Your Cheating Heart
by mellymoo13
Summary: Daryl and Beth are in two separate relationships, trying to fight their feelings for each other proves to be nearly impossible. what happens when you play with fire?
1. Chapter 1

**hello fellow walking dead writers/readers. I am so scared about putting out my first story but also really excited! I hope you like it and any feedback good or bad i will accept with open arms. so... here we go! (nervous laugh)**

**chapter 1 **

Hunting for daryl was always a way to escape, escape the noise of an ever expanding prison, escape the four walls and a roof that makes him feel trapped in his own skin, escape having to pretend like he cares about what some random person from woodbury is saying to him and most of all escape the temptation of one blonde haired blue eyed girl who he cant seem to stop thinking about.

On his way back to the prison with several rabbits his mind wondered on when it all started,when he started thinking of his brother ricks girl as more than just a _girl._

_Two weeks ago-_

He came back from a run that was supposed to be quick and easy, daryl had scouted the store and found it to be safe. He was supposed to check back with rick to organise who would be going on that particular run but daryl being Daryl decided he could handle getting a few supplies himself.

He does his usual routine of banging on the shop window and waits, nothing comes banging back so he enters the store slowly, crossbow raised he has a quick look around, still nothing. Throwing all he could carry in a duffle he stops when he hears the familiar sound of dragging feet and low groaning. Peeking round a shelf to his horror he sees a bunch of walkers coming through the only accessible exit he has, thinking fast daryl picks up an empty cash register and throws it through the store widow. In his haste to climb through the shattered window he cuts his side on a jagged piece of glass but that doesn't slow him down from running to his bike speeding back to the prison still feeling accomplished that he managed to grab his loot before he hightailed it out of there.

When he gets back to the prison he's not surprised to find carol waiting for him, he wishes she wouldn't. No reason to worry over _him._

"Daryl! why are you bleeding? What happened? Are you ok?" Carol askes breathlessly. The bombardment of questions makes his head hurt.

"'m fine woman, quit with the hundred questions, 's jus a scratch." he huffs while she's pulling at his shirt were he's bleeding. He gives her a grin that tells her he really is fine and that he likes her soft gentle hands on the skin of his abdomen. coming back from a run always had his adrenalin running wild and so he almost always came back horny as hell.

"C'mon," he says while grabbing her hand leading her back to the prison,

"Want you". he mumbles without looking over his shoulder at her.

"Daryl, you're hurt, you need stitches! Have you not looked at what you did to your side, its deep. Hershel just left with Michonne to burn some of the build up so you'll have to go find beth to patch you up" she explained, tugging on his hand to bring him to a stop.

"Naw.. il jus wait for hershel, it can wait."

Carol glares at him,pushing him through the prison doors "no you will not wait for hershel, he only left so he'll be awhile, you need it done now and oh yes, Rick wants to talk to you then maybe when your done and if your feeling better after we can do that thing you like" she says with a wink.

"Jesus, fine, where they at?"

"In their cell, i'd knock if I were you, don't wanna get an eye full of Ricks naked backside" she says , Daryl accepts a peck on the cheek then makes his way up to Rick and Beth's shared cell , straining to hear any moaning and groaning he finds to his relief hushed talking. Knocking on the bars of the cell he hears movement then Rick emerges fully clothed but still a little dishevelled.

"Only got back?" Rick says, looking over Daryl's appearance.

"Was safe 'nough to do it m'self, no point com'n back for help" Daryl grumbles through his thumbnail he's been biting on.

"If it was so safe, how'd ye get hurt?" Rick quizzes

"Reached for sometin under a shelf, didn't see glass on the floor 'fore I rolled over it" he lied

Before rick can ask another question the curtain pulls back more to reveal beth's worried face having heard their conversation. Why do folk have to worry on him so much. he's nothing special he thinks."Ye need me to look at it for ye?, daddy's gone off with mich. She informs looking at Daryl's bloodied shirt he nods and mumbles an "i know, 's why m here, Carol says I need stitches"Beth nods her understanding and asks Rick to grab the supplies she needs while showing Daryl into her cell which smells of sweat and sex and it doesn't help that he's still horny as fuck.

"Go 'head an take your shirt off so I can see what 'm workin with"

Daryl pulls the side of his shirt up to reveal a nasty looking gash over the side of his ribcage, not taking it off all the way. "Y' can look at it like this" she looks at him expressionless then down to his cut, he knows she's seen his back before but he doesn't want a repeat."k" is all she says before Rick walks in with the supplies, leaving them on the desk Rick walks to beth and kisses her briefly before turning to walk back out only stopping to tell Daryl he need to talk with him later, Daryl nods as Rick leaves.

Beth steers him towards a chair to sit, quickly getting to work cleaning the dried blood before she can tweeze out any shards left behind,her hands are warm and soft feeling soothing on his skin, its silent apart from the tiny shards hitting the bottom of a bowl. "So how'd it happen again?" she says breaking the silence. "Rolled over on glass" he grunts, trying to keep the pain from reaching his eyes. She stops to thread the needle so he takes a moment to look round her cell wanting to distract himself from the pain in his side and the ache he still feels in his groin. His eyes wonder to Beth struggling to thread the needle, a light sheen of sweat coated her whole body, her body, yes he notices. who wouldn't spy a glance now and then at her long legs and firm round ass in those too tight jean shorts she always wears. Rick was one lucky guy to get to have those legs wrapped round his body every night.

Not that he thinks on _that_ too much, he has Carol after all to fulfil his needs, to keep him warm at night and fill the void he cant seem to fill. Sleeping with Carol was a drunken mistake when he was feeling vulnerable and lonely one night, he didn't stop her when she came to his cell every night after that first time, now he was in too deep to have the balls to tell her he just wanted to be friends, not wanting to hurt her feelings or make the prison have awkward tension he decided to just go with the building relationship that was slowly forming.

Breaking him from is thoughts Beth finally got the needle treaded stating the obvious about how its gonna be painful, no shit. Triyng to distract him beth asks him about the run, "Get anything good?" she whispers trying to be as calming as possible. He looks straight ahead at the wall when he answers "no".

"Run into any trouble?" shes says, still working the needle through his skin. He balls his fists tight and says "was quiet". She sighs, frustrated at his lie, because he knows she can tell, damn girl reads people as good as those fancy books she always has. "What?" he grumbles annoyed that she wont just come out and say what she really wants to say. "You didn't roll over on glass, the cut is a clean slice across, if you rolled over glass it wouldn't look the way it does. So what don't you want Rick to know." she says in a voice that makes him second guess just how old she really is.

"Miss know it all has all the answers, why don't you tell me what happened." he snipes. She finishes stitching and begins to clean the area, ignoring he's anrgy remark. "Whatever happened doesn't matter, what does matter is that you came back in almost one piece, you are family Daryl, Rick worries, Carol worries, we all worry. Maybe you'll consider that before you try do dangerous things on your own again. I wont say anything to Rick, just be more careful next time. All done"she finishes with a soft smile.

Daryl stares at her like she grew an extra head, all he can manage to say is a low mumbled "thanks". She smiles even brighter at his thanks while clearing the bloodied rags into the trash. "No problem, now get before carol thinks iv kidnapped you" she laughs. With a "humm" he stands to leave, but before he can get too far he feels a soft hand grasp his own callous hand halting him in his tracks. he turns his head looking down at beths tiny hand withdrawing from his all too quickly for his liking mumbling a "sorry" before she turns her other palm up showing two pills for him to take. "forgot to give you these" she says blushing. He feels his hand tingle from her touch, not wanting to make matters worse he shrugs muttering"don' need no pills" before he turned and left practically running from the girl, fuckin pussy he heard merle laugh.

_Present day-_

He walks up the yard heading for Carol, throwing his kills on the bench for her to prepare, she smiles at him in greeting, he nods his in return. "Gonna shower 'fore dinner" he says walking off. Since that day in Beth and Ricks cell he cant look at Carol without feeling guilt well up inside him, guilt on thinking of another mans girl, guilt about not being able to love Carol the way she deserves. As he enters the the prison heading for the showers he hears a familiar giggle from behind him, turning he sees Beth with her arms around Ricks neck, giggling as he nips at her exposed throat. Daryl's stomach clenches painfully at the sight, turning his back to them he stalks off to the showers unaware that the blonde he was watching was watching him too.

**so there it is.. hope it was atleast ok. :/ reviews would help me know what you guys would like happen with this and iv a few ideas but I really wanna know what people think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**wow, I'm blown away by all the follows/favours for this story , honestly was expecting zero interest so anything  
>is amazing to me,and of course the reviews<br>make me extra happy. :) thank you! I got a reviewer point out my capitalizations error in chapter  
>one.. thank you .. I fixed it.. your welcome. ;) ha. I will be switching povs each chapter from Daryl to Beth<br>so next chapter is Daryl's. This _is_ a bethyl story but obviously with the nature of the story there  
>will be some Brick and Caryl. Also I have never written smut, there will definitely be smut<br>in this story or I will try at least.**** I will _not_ be following the governor storyline, they _will_ be staying at the prison  
>for the foreseeable future. :)<br>il shut up now, hope you guys enjoy chapter two. x **

_Chapter 2_

"Rick! So close... don't stop" Beth panted as Rick rocked his hips against hers in a slow thrust that maddened her at times. Sex with Rick is always amazing, he made sure she always came before he finished but sometimes she wished he would just let go and _fuck _her instead of the slow and sensual love making they always have.

She would never ask him to do such a thing though, cant picture herself saying those dirty words, even thinking about saying it made her blush profusely. She knows if she asked Rick to take her a little harder, faster, he would for _her_ but she can never pluck up the courage to ask, leaving her flustered after love making even with a couple orgasms under her belt. Frustrated is the word.

Beth had come gasping Ricks name breathing heavy against his neck pulling Ricks own climax along with her. " I love you" Rick breaths still buried inside her. Staring into his eyes with a lazy smile she pants "Love you." He rolls from Beth, discarding of the used condom in the thrash.

_ "Don't need another baby to worry bout" _Rick tells her one night, only she doesn't think its having another baby that bothers him, its the fear of history repeating itself and having another child motherless. She doesn't mind, she has Judy to keep her hands full and getting pregnant these days is a gamble shes not willing to take.

Lying next to Rick sound asleep, Beth tries her best to let sleep take her but her brain likes to do overtime when it knows its time for bed.  
>Turning on her side, she looks over his handsome features thinking back to when she first thought of Rick Grimes as handsome.<p>

_One year ago-_

On the farm, Rick was kind enough to teach the clueless farm folk how to shoot, herself included. Rick had innocently came up behind her to adjust her stance, his touch was exciting her to no ends while her very alive boyfriend Jimmy stood mere feet away not knowing what dirty thoughts she was having about another guy.. or man even, yes.. he was most definitely a _man._

Keeping her feelings to herself was all she could do, Rick had Lori who he obviously loved very much and she was just a seventeen year old teenager  
>with a silly schoolgirl crush, her feelings would go away in time she thought.<p>

When Lori died her heart broke alongside Ricks. He was broken, with a newborn that needed a mother, Beth took care of Ricks children the best she could. She worried for Carl, he needed his father.  
>A couple weeks go by and Rick wont hold or even look at Judith, she's had enough of his selfish ways and practically yells at him to "get a grip!", "your kids need <em>you"<em>.  
>After that very day it all happened really fast, Rick came to his senses and was spending a lot more time with Carl and Judy which meant spending <em>alot<em> more time with her.

The first time Rick kisses her she's as surprised as he is, she was laying Judy down to sleep in his cell when he thanked her with  
>a kiss and if that's the way Rick Grimes says thank you she'll take it all day long.<p>

Giving Rick her virginity was easy when she was so in love with him, he was patient and gentle.. everything a first time should be.

Maggie was _not _happy about their new relationship but with time and effort she was persuaded by Hershel of all people to give them a chance." Rick makes her happy and is a good man, isn't that all we can ask for in the world we live in today?"

Carl on the other hand was a whole other story. To this very day he still will not accept Beth as Ricks new girl. Calling her a slut was the final straw for Beth, she quit trying with him after that and never told Rick why, not wanting to harm his relationship with his son.  
>She understood Carls anger towards her and his father, jumping into something new so soon after Lori was a shock to everyone but the heart wants what the heart wants, life was too short to wait around.<p>

It also occurred to her that Carl might have had a crush on her and was mad she didn't pick him instead of his much older dad.

The prison group don't find it weird anymore she realises one day as she walks hand in hand with Rick through the yard carrying Judy on her hip,  
>no one bats an eye at them. "Finally" she sighs in relief, "Now we can be like a normal couple" she says to Rick excitedly, he laughs and tells her they were always normal to <em>him. <em>

_Present day -_

Beth thinks of all her chores she has to do tomorrow while finally drifting off to sleep, snuggled up to Ricks side.

Waking up at the crack of dawn, Beth slips out of bed trying not to stir Rick or Judy.  
>Getting dressed, she throws on her shorts and a plain yellow tank, its way too hot for anything more, she'd walk round the prison in a bikini if<br>she had one.

On the way to the kitchen to get breakfast ready with Carol she reaches up to fix her hair into a messy bun,  
>she hates how her hair sticks to the back of her neck from how sweaty she is.<br>Coming up to the kitchen she hears low mumbling voices of two people talking, she slows down to make her steps lighter as to not alert anyone of her presence.  
>She's not sure why she's being so cautious, its most likely Carol talking to whoever was coming off guard duty.<p>

Entering the kitchen silently she finds Carol with her back to her trying to stir a pot of oatmeal, _trying _but failing considering Daryl was pressed up tight to Carols back, one of his large hands griped on the side of her hip like a vice,  
>his other hand held Carols free hand flat on the counter so she couldn't move,<br>his lips were close to Carols ear as he growls in a low menacing voice " don' like to be kept wait'n, gonna fuck you on this counter if ye don' hurry the fuck up."

To say Beth was shocked was an understatement, she had never heard Daryl talking in such a vulgar manner  
>or think that he was as rough with his hands as he was and to her utter surprise it left her<br>with a clenching ache low in her stomach.  
>She found she liked how rough he was with Carol, how tight he held her hand down on the counter, how hard he squeezed her hip enough to bruise.<p>

Not wanting to be caught snooping she slowly backed up from the door out of sight,  
>she start humming loud enough for the couple to hear, waiting a few seconds she entered the kitchen again to find Carol still stirring the pot,<br>Daryl was sitting on the counter near by looking at her with a knowing smirk.  
>He couldn't possibly know she had seen them a moment ago, could he!? she thought, trying to keep the blush from her face.<p>

"Good morning" Beth chirps with a small smile.

"Good morning sweetie" Carol says smiling over her shoulder. "Its almost ready Beth so there isn't much left to do, can you handle the rest while  
>I have a shower before the morning crowd get here?"<p>

"Sure" Beth responds, making her way over to Carol she takes the wooden spoon from her and starts to stir.  
>"I'll see you later to take care of that problem Pookie" Carol says to Daryl on her way out the door, leaving an awkward Daryl still perched on<br>the counter top.

Daryl didn't show any signs of leaving, she wished he would though, he just sat there playing with a green stone or gem, she wasn't sure.  
>Not looking up to meet his eyes, Beth breaks the awkward silence "shouldn't you be head'n to bed, being on watch all night must be really tiring."<p>

"You try'n to get rid of me, I was here first" he says childishly with a teasing smile.  
>She's noticed lately he smiles more, Carol must make him happy she thinks.<br>"Well if your gonna stay, grab the bowls from the cabinet above your head and set them on the hatch." she sassed  
>"Bossy lil thang" she thought she heard him mutter under his breath before he reached up to the cabinet.<p>

She doesn't know why she does it but she catches yourself stealing a glance at his toned abdomen as his shirt rides up when he stretches.  
>He has a happy trail leading from his bellybutton to just under his jeans which ride low on is hips, she looks away flushed.<p>

What the hell has gotten into her? ever since she stitched Daryl's side in her cell a few weeks ago she kept thinking  
>of his tight muscular stomach , running her hands up and over every dip and curve, licking up the line of his six pack leading to his hard chiselled chest.<br>She shook her head trying to rid her thoughts of Daryl Dixons body.

Then a couple weeks after that when Rick was being very affectionate in the prison halls she seen Daryl watching as Rick kissed up her neck to the place behind her ear. Somehow, having Daryl watching made her heat up even more than she already was.

Every time she had impure thoughts of Daryl she feels like the worst person in the world, she loves Rick, so even thinking of being unfaithful  
>felt like she was betraying him.<p>

Lost in her head Beth hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings and was startled when she felt  
>a presence at her back.<br>Turning her head she came face to face with Daryl, nearly knocking noses.  
>She gasped, dropping the spoon into the large pot while whipping her head head back around.<p>

Too close, she thought. He was standing way too close to her, she cant think straight.  
>She feels him shift, his hot breath near her neck as he brings a hand around to the pot and dips two of his digits into the<br>pot of oatmeal. She's holding her breath, standing rigid while he brings his two oatmeal covered fingers to his mouth and sucks them clean.

"Mmm.. tastes good, needs more sugar though" he whispers right next to her ear, sending goosebumps up the nap of her exposed neck.

She shudders involuntarily, her knees feel weak thinking of what he has just done and remember what he had said to Carol.

"Mmhmm" is all she can manage, if she opened her mouth to actually speak she was scared he would figured her out.

She doesn't have to worry long because his warmth is gone from her back, she hears his footsteps retreating from the  
>kitchen but before he leaves he calls back over his shoulder " it aint nice to eavesdrop Greene, have to teach ye how to keep quiet if you wanna<br>sneak up on people."

Head spinning, she finally let a gasping breath out.  
>What had just happened? Daryl <em>did <em>know she was standing behind them when he was saying those things.  
>She felt too much of everything else to let her embarrassment at being caught spying bother her.<p>

Taking the pot from the stove, Beth looks to the counter where Daryl had sat and sees the green stone he was fiddling with.  
>She picks it up to examine, its nothing special.. just a green stone.<br>Putting the stone in her pocket she starts plating out the oatmeal for the approaching hungry mouths,  
>happy to do any meagre chore to keep her mind and hands occupied.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry in advance for my long A/N but I just need to say that writing this story has been  
>so much fun for me so far and the feedback im getting makes me sooo happy, cant stop smiling. :)))<br>thank you again for everyone who followed/favoured/reviewed. Got my first foreign review from  
>Uruguay! Hola! :) It amazes me how many different countries around the world has read this.<br>I hate google translate btw, but I _will _reply to each and every review seeing as you guys took  
>the time to leave me a comment.<br>**

** Not sure how long this story will be considering its my first and its kind of a jump start  
>story of sorts to get me comfortable writing. To be honest, I hadn't a clue where I was taking this<br>fic until last night. I have it mapped out _now_ to be.. maybe 10 chapters? don't  
>hold that against me.. could be more but definitely no less.<br>I _do_ have the next few chapters wrote down so its just a matter of typing it all up.**

_Chapter 3-_

_"__Where the fuck is it!?"_

Daryl had been pulling his cell apart franticly looking for his green gemstone, the stone his mother  
>had given him a week before her death, telling her youngest son that the stone was magic<br>and would protect him from 'anything and everything' that tried to hurt him.

Knowing that _anything and everything _really meant his abusive dad who loved  
>nothing more than to wail on him every time he came home drunk.<p>

He wasn't stupid, he knew the stone wasn't _actually _magic,  
>the stone was his safety, his lucky charm of sorts, not to protect him against his dad anymore,<br>but from the walkers and other treats this shitty world brought down on him.

Daryl truly believed he was still standing alive today _because_ of that stone  
>and without it he felt lost, on edge, exposed, waiting for something bad to happen now that<br>he no longer had it safely tucked into his pocket.

"Fuckin dammit, motherfuckin... fuck,fuck,FUCK!" Daryl yelled while throwing his mattress off his bed  
>across the other side of his cell.<br>He stood panting, pulling at the roots of his hair in frustration.

Marching from his cell, he made his way outside where he knew Carol would be doing laundry.  
>Out of breath, he stops in front of Carol hanging wet clothes while Beth scrubbed dirty clothes<br>in a basin a foot away on the ground.

Not giving a shit if he sounds stupid or that Beth could hear everything he would say, he blurts out  
>in one long sentence,<p>

"Have ye seen a green gemstone anywhere in ma cell or round the yard?, I can' find it and I need  
>it, its missin, have ye seen it?"<p>

Carol's looking at him like he's lost his damn mind, It only annoys him further.

"A stone? I havnt..." Carol says confused, getting cut off by Daryl,

"Tha's what I said aint' it, have ye seen it or not!" he yells, immediately regretting it when  
>he sees the way Carol flinches away from him.<br>Looking at her scared face calms him down significantly, he shrinks in on himself muttering,  
>"'M sor.., I didn' mean..shit.. Carol ye know I wouldn'."<p>

He looks at Beths concerned face, still on the ground but not scrubbing anymore.  
>She heard everything and thinks hes a fuckin ass who beats on women, just like his<br>piece of shit pa and Carols ex Ed.

Considering how Carol reacted, why _wouldn't_ she think he was knockin' her around,  
>fucking great.<br>He feels a sudden lump in his throat and turns quickly, leaving Carol and Beth staring after him.  
>Daryl heads off to the other side of the yard to his bike, it needs an oil change and he<em> needs<em>  
>to sort his head out.<p>

"_Fuckin pussy.. nearly cried like a bitch infront of the women,  
>pansy ass cry baby"<em> Merle's taunting voice creeps into his head.

He couldn't stop thinking of how Carol reacted, did she really think he would hit her or  
>was it just second nature for her to flinch, Ed messed her up pretty bad so he's not sure.<p>

He knows he plays rough when he's ploughing into her from behind but that's saved for the  
>bedroom, he would <em>always<em> stop if she didn't like what he was doing and  
>he's pretty sure she <em>loved<em> everything he did by the ways he made her scream in pleasure.

Half way through his oil change his mind wonders to the times him and Carol fuck,  
>he'll call it as it is, '<em>fuckin'<em>, because it sure as shit isn't pansy ass '_love makin'.  
><em>Couldn't be gentle even if he tried, just wasn't how he worked and doesn't think he'd  
>even like it slow and carful, boring sex he calls it.<p>

Lately though, he'd be lucky to get a blowjob from Carol, hadn't had sex in weeks.  
>She promises and never delivers, instead giving him a quick handjob, fuckin tease.<p>

Maybe she's goin through that menopause crap, she's never in the mood, always snappy  
>and when he <em>does <em>get his hand down her panties she's drier than the sahara desert, makes  
>a man think he can't arouse his woman anymore, as if he wasn' insecure enough.<p>

Just then, he hears high pitched screams across the yard.  
>He looks up to see five or six walkers stumbling close to Beth and Carol,<br>how do slow as fuck walkers get the jump on you?

Carol draws her knife, then, when he expects Beth to do the same  
>she stumbles backwards on her ass with a walker landing on top,<br>all the while Daryl grabs his bow, running to get close enough, he  
>lifts his bow and fires a bolt right through the side of the walkers head that<br>was crushing Beth, inches from taking a bite from her neck.

Carol on the other hand was taking them out like a pro,Daryl ran the rest of the way to kill the remaining walkers with his knife.

Daryl notices Beth still on the ground and panics, why was she still lying there?, was she hurt?  
>He yanks Beth from the ground to her feet and checks for injuries, .. nothing.<br>"Ye ok?" he askes a trembling, teary eyed Beth, still holding her up.  
>"'M fine.. was jus close is all, couldn't reach my knife before..." she trails off looking around her feet where corpses lay not moving.<p>

Rick comes barrelling down the yard with half the fukin prison on his heels,  
>"What happened? how did walkers get in the yard? Rick enquires, taking Beth from his grasp.<p>

"Was jus' gonna find out" Daryl grumps.

Walking to the fence, Daryl examines everything like the hunter he is.  
>Dead mice lay on the grass beside the fence, the cables holding the gap in the fence<br>together was now open.

Inside job is the first word that comes to mind, someone's been feeding the fuckers  
>mice.. no wonder there was build up along one side he thought.<p>

Why open the cables though? why put the prison in danger when it risked the life of  
>the person responsible too? Doesn't make sense.<p>

Daryl looks to Rick, a knowing look between them and then Rick was shouting orders.

"Carol, Maggie, take Beth to our cell, get some water into her."  
>"Tyreese, ask Sasha in tower two if she seen any suspicious behaviour near the fences... from inside, not out."<br>"The rest of you are on lockdown until we get to the bottom of this, now get on inside."  
>When no one moves, Rick shouts, "NOW!"<br>Everyone scatters.

Daryl being self sufficient was closing the breech in the fence as Rick was giving his orders,  
>he walks with Rick back to the prison in silence, both deep in thought.<p>

"We'll talk bout the fences and mice at the group meetin tomorrow."  
>Rick says, walking through the prison doors.<p>

"Gonna wash up before my watch, Daryl says, covered in grease and blood he says 'night' and  
>walks to his cell for clean clothes.<p>

Coming from a particularly long shower, Daryl walks to his cell to retrieve his crossbow when he  
>hears angry whispers coming from Ricks cell, its Beth, she sounds pissed.<p>

He felt a smug smile grace his lips, happy that Beth and Rick were fighting, trouble in paradise he thought.

Not being a nosey fuck like some people, he makes his way out of the prison to relieve sasha for the night.

An hour later when the moon is high in the sky he hears light footsteps coming up the tower, he knows who it is, always tryin to be sneaky,  
>failing every time.<br>Beth enters, immediately filling the small space with her sweet vanilla scent. Fuck.

He lights a cigarette, trying to mask her smell and keep his hands busy.

"Shudn' be out here,.. 's too cold" he says, breathing out a puff of smoke.  
>She walks to the opposite wall, leaning her back to the wall. <em>"Good"<em> he thinks, smart girl to keep her distance.

"Jus' needed some space, .. had a disagreement with Rick." Beth says with an annoyed furrow to her brow.

Daryl stayed quiet, surprised that he _wants _to know what happened, he takes another long drag of his cigarette.

Beth looks at him intently like she's trying to figure him out with one look.

"I wanna learn how to defend m'self but Rick thinks I don' need to, says the prison  
>is safe and if anything <em>does<em> happen, he'd protect me."

Daryl shakes his head, how can Rick of all people think it aint a good idea to be prepared in this  
>shithole of a world.<p>

"So you agree? I should be trained?" she says with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

"O' course ye shud be fuckin trained!," he blurts out.

"Then its settled" she beams, looking accomplished.

"What's settled?" he askes confused.

"You'll train me silly" she says, as if it was nothing.

"Nah', not happenin." he says barely letting her finish.

"Why!?, you said It yourself, I _need _to be able to protect myself Daryl!"

"If Rick don' want ye training 'm not gonna go against him!" he shout back.

Kicking from the wall Beth starts to walk slowly to Daryl, stopping in front of him she looks up into his eyes  
>with a pleading, sad face.<p>

"Please Daryl.. you could talk to Rick.. he listens to _you, _'m scared what happened today will  
>happen again, next time I won' be so lucky or have <em>you <em>there to save me."

Daryl squeezes his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying not to think about Beth being hurt.

He signs defeated, looking down at her smiling up at him like she knows what he's gonna say.

"Il talk to Rick, 'm not makin any promises so don' get..."

Before he can finish, Beth is throwing her arms around his waist, squealing like a schoolgirl  
>who's just seen Justin Bleeber, or whatever his fucktard name is.<p>

He held her smooth elbow with one hand, the other laying limp at his side.  
>She smelled amazing, like something he'd wanna eat <em>all<em>.. _fuckin_.. _day_.

He's surprised to find that he doesn't mind her embrace, maybe because its _her _that's doing  
>the embracing.<br>She whispers "thank you" over and over again into his chest.

Beth withdraws her head to look up into is eyes, face suddenly serious.

"Thank you Daryl." she whispers again.

"Ye already said tha', dun told ye not to get your hopes.."

She interrupts him again, "Not that.. for today... for.. saving my life."

Feeling the back of his neck turning scarlet, Daryl grips her shoulders, pushing her back gently to disconnect them  
>properly. He doesn't trust himself being so close.<p>

" Was nuthn" he says clearing his throat.

Beth just gives him a smile, shaking her head at his unwillingness to accept  
>her thanks.<p>

"Was sumtin to _me." _she says, stepping back more, getting ready to leave.

Daryl thinks back to the kitchen, when he was nearly humpin her back like a  
>dog in heat.<br>How she smelled, how her breathing slowed to nearly stopping altogether,  
>how he wanted to lick that bead of sweat dripping down the nape of her neck,<br>how she watched with heated eyes as he sucked his fingers clean of oatmeal.

All of a sudden it hit him, his gemstone, he thinks he left it on the counter in the kitchen.

She was halfway out the door when he called out,

"Hey Beth... ye see my green gemstone round anywhere?"

She stops hearing his voice, body turning rigid.

"No..sorry.. I.. I haven' seen it Daryl." she stutters.

He looks at her and gives her a small smile, she has no reason to lie.

"A'right.. g'night Beth."

"Night Daryl." she says, scurrying down the tower.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**-** Few things to go over, bare with me.****  
>Sorry the update is late.. I tend to nit pick and this chapter is kind of a biggie<br>for bethyl so I wanted to get it right.  
>Huge thank you to everyone who reviewed, my jaw was on the floor when I woke to see<br>all the love. :)) Im totally sorry for all the grammar mistaskes, I have ****_no _****beta so all screw ups are down to me.  
>I check a gazillion times but I always miss something, not good when you remember 4oclock in the morning and<br>cant sleep until its fixed! ( lie and lye will forever haunt me ) :)) k.. on with the story..**

_Chapter 4-_

Things with Rick have been strained, she has no clue why he's being so  
>distant and just downright grouchy. Maybe Carl's been on his case again about going<br>on a run, or maybe its the mystery of who's been feeding the walkers mice and opened the fence, maybe its because she nearly had her face  
>chewed off by one of them.<br>Whatever the reason, he's been taking it out on her.

When she was led back to the prison after the attack she was in shock, who knew dead corpses could be  
>so strong!? When the rotting thing was on top of her she couldn't breath it was so heavy, she could do nothing<br>but try and hold it off for as long as possible.

She thought she was going to die, she knew she would die eventually, it is inevitable when you're  
>as weak as she is, living in a world where the dead <em>and <em>the living want to kill you.  
>She was surprised when the searing pain of a bite never came,<br>even more surprised when Daryl manhandled her from the ground, looking  
>her over frantically.<p>

Was Daryl Dixon worried about _her? _

Carol stood feet away looking worried, yet Daryl still clutched at _her _as though she might  
>suddenly disappear.<p>

Then all too soon Rick pulled her from Daryls grasp and she felt bereft of his comforting presence,  
>shouldn't she feel as safe and comforted with Rick as she felt with Daryl?<p>

She had some time in her cell to think before Rick came back, he immediately took her into his arm and  
>kissed her head lovingly.<p>

"Judith is with Michonne so I wan' ye to rest and don' worry bout a thang, imma make sure _that_ never happens again.  
>Rick whispers into her hair while rubbing circles on her back soothingly.<p>

Beth lift her head from his chest, looking up at the serious expression on Ricks face.

"I _do _worry Rick, I almost died today because I wasn' strong enough to protect myself,  
>'m not Michonne, 'm not Maggie or Carol, <em>their <em>strong." She says, feeling her eyes brim with tears.

Taking a steady breath to control her emotions, she straightens her back and holds her head up high,  
>knowing what she'll say next needed to sound confident.<p>

"But I wanna be, I _need _to be... so I wan' you to train me, teach me how to be strong Rick."

"Ye _are_ strong, ye keep this prison together, that's _your_ job, _mine_ is to keep you safe and  
>that's wha' i'm gonna do." he says looking slightly annoyed."Ye don' need any training Beth, ye got safe walls inside the prison, ye got strong fences,<br>ye got me, I told ye what happened today won' happen again." he tells her, running his hands up to cup her face.

"Ye can' be there for me all the time! what if we have to leave the prison!? What if we get separated!?  
>I'll be alone and defenceless, I wont make it on my own Rick!" She yells, frustrated.<p>

"That's a whole lotta what ifs Beth, stuff ye shouldn' worry bout, stuff that ain't gonna  
>happen, I'll <em>always <em>be there to protect you." he exclaims.

"Ye weren't there today." she says, immediately regretting it.

He drops his hands from her face, furrowing his brow at her.

"One time... one time i'm not there and you're gonna put it all on me!?

" 'm not!, I..." Beth was getting angry, why was he twisting things?

Rick cut her off, pointing a finger in her face " Yes ye are! you're sayin' I can' protect my prison,  
>can' protect you.. Judith.. Carl! you're sayin' I can' do my job right!" he yells, pacing the cell.<p>

"I never said that, why are ye putting words in my mouth!?" she hollers, furious. " I need to know that  
><em>when<em> you can' be there, I'll be able to protect myself, is that too much to ask!?"

Rick stopped pacing looking like she slapped him across the face.

"You know somethin' I don'? cause ye seem to_ know _I won' be round much longer, ye gonna call it  
>quits on us or somethin'?" Rick looked expectantly at her.<p>

"What!? Where is this coming from, of course 'm not callin' it quits, I love you! Why are  
>you being like this, you've been acting like a dick to me lately."<p>

Ignoring her last remark, Rick walks past her to leave their cell.

"Fine.. ye wanna train, go 'head, but I _won' _be the one doin it." Rick says, leaving their cell.

What just happened? How did asking to be trained turn into such a big fight?

When Daryl agreed to talk to Rick she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders,  
>she knew it was a long shot but she was desperate. If Rick <em>sill<em> didn't agree then maybe Daryl would  
>change his mind and train her against Ricks wishes. Another long shot.<p>

The next day Rick sat next to her while she fed Judy in the cafeteria with his tail between his legs,  
>he apologises to her for his behaviour recently and tells her he talked to Daryl.<p>

This was it.. make or break. Rick gave her a small smile before jumping into his explanation.

" You start tomorrow, muscle and stamina build up with Michonne two days a week,  
>two days hand to hand with Daryl and two days weapons training with me, you asked for it,<br>its gonna be tough Beth so you better be ready.

Daryl, you amazingly wonderful persuader of stubborn men, she mused to herself.

Beth was bouncing excitedly in her seat, throwing her arms around Rick, kissing all over his face.

"'M ready Rick, I swear I'll work so hard, thank ye for doin this." she says in between kisses.

" Does that mean 'm forgiven?" he laughs lightly at her.

"Yes.. but ye still have some makin up to do later." she whispers, waggling her brows suggestively.

Grabbing the back of her head, Rick brings her into a passionate kiss, "Oh.. I intend to make it up to ye  
>all...night...long, he mummers kissing up her neck, dragging the last few words out to make his point.<p>

Beth giggles, playfully pushing him away.

" Go protect and serve officer, I gotta feed Judy the rest or she'll get fussy."

Standing to leave, Rick tips his imaginary hat at her and walks away calling over his shoulder  
>" T'morrow at dawn, first lessons with Daryl."<p>

As Rick made his way out, Maggie and her daddy entered, hearing the end of Ricks comment  
>Maggie is throwing questions at her before she even reaches her table.<p>

"What lessons with Daryl?" "Who's getting lessons with Daryl?"

" I am, Beth says happily. I'm gonna be trainin' with Mich, Daryl and Rick, I need to be able to  
>protect myself."<p>

"Yeah.. I think that's a good idea" Maggie says, surprising her.

"Ye do?" Beth says, with a bewildered look on her face.

" Yeah I do.. after what happened the other day, I think you should be more prepared."

Hershel was nodding his head in agreement "I think you are already strong Bethy, but if  
>you think its best then I wont stand in your way." he finishes, reaching across the table to pat her hand.<p>

"'M not physically strong daddy, I wanna be able to shoot like sasha, fight like Daryl and kill walkers  
>like Carol."<p>

She thought back to when she was attacked with Carol, seeing Carol take out those walkers  
>like it was a stroll in the park made her envious.<br>Daryl was lucky to have such a strong, capable woman.

_That_ just made her more envious, she couldn't understand why, or maybe she did and couldn't  
>admit it to herself.<p>

"You will Bethy, you will." Hershel assures her, smiling proudly at her.

_Three weeks later-_

On her way to meet Daryl for her next gruelling throw down, Beth hears laughing from the tower she's passing.  
>Looking up, she sees Michonne smiling down at her.<p>

She has never been in so much pain in her life, her body feels stiff, making her walk like a  
>plank across the yard.<p>

" You feelin' those squats yet Greene!?" Michonne shouts, laughing from the tower above.

" I hate you!" Beth yells back, scowling not so seriously at the her.

"You love me, tell Dixon to take it easy this time!." Michonne hollers back.

Beth waved her off, like Daryl could ever 'take it easy' on her.

When Beth started training she was nervous to be so close to Daryl, three weeks  
>later and nothing has changed, its unnerving to say the least.<br>The first week he had left bruising around her wrists, legs, shoulders, nearly every part of her  
>body was peppered with multi coloured markings.<p>

He was what she expected him to be, aggressive... and she liked it.  
>She liked seeing the marks he leaves on her creamy skin, and she definitely likes how her body aches after<br>their sparring matches, knowing it was his handy work, she couldn't seem to mind at all.

When she whined he would tell her to suck it up, not knowing that her whining was out of pleasure and not  
>pain. She secretly loved that he could hold both her wrists down with his one big hand, loved when he would pin her to the ground<br>with his hips and tell her to try and escape, which was the perfect opportunity for her to buck her own  
>hips up against his, creating a delicious friction, making her all sorts of hot.<p>

Lost in her muddled mind, Beth doesn't hear or see Daryl come up behind her.

He uses one arm to grip around her neck in a choke hold while the other drapes across  
>her chest, holding her firmly against him.<p>

"Snapped your neck Greene, now you're dead." he whispers into her ear.

"How does this count as training?" she sputters, struggling to breath.

"Told ye I'd teach ye how to be sneaky, lesson learned." he smiles against her ear, loosening his grip.  
>She turns red, not from being choked but from remembering her spying incident in the kitchen.<p>

"This doesn't help anything, jus' gives me a soar neck." she muses.  
>Taking advantage of his slacking arms, Beth turns a fraction to jab her elbow sharply back into his gut, knocking the<br>air from his lungs, freeing herself in the process.

He takes a second to catch his breath, looking at her amused.

"It was more of a wha' not to do... don' walk with your head in the clouds, don' walk like ye got clogs on,  
>ye can' hear your attacker comin' if all your hearin' is your own damn shoes, and don' hum.. i know ye don' realise you're<br>doin' it sometimes but that's the biggest problem, gotta kick the habit."

"I was hummin'?" she enquires, walking backwards as he followes her.

"Mmhm... damn loud too." he jokes, looking her over as she nears the grassy area where they train.

She feels licks of heat where his eyes touch her body, she needs to stop this silly flirtatious game they  
>play before it goes too far she thinks sadly.<p>

Shes interrupted from her thoughts when Daryl speaks in an almost excited voice.

"Todays lesson is called cat an mouse, you're the mouse, 'm the cat... now run." he says with a predatory look  
>in his eyes.<p>

"What! Daryl no, 'm soar from the cardio Mich had me do yesterday, I can'..."

"Don' make this worse on yourself Greene," Daryl interrupted, "Name o' the game... you try escape, I try catch you."  
>He steps right up to her menacingly growling "Run... now!"<p>

She was scared but also really excited, this was gonna be fun she thought.

Beth smirks mischievously at him before running off toward a secluded part of the prison, heart beating  
>out of her chest.<br>He's on her tail, she can hear his feet hit the pavement with every step he took, he is fast.

She feels his large hand land on her shoulder, trying to yank her back, she shakes him off ducking under  
>his arm.<br>All her time training with Mich and Daryl has made her stronger than she ever thought possible,  
>Daryl wasn' gettin' her that easy, not without a damn good fight.<p>

As she starts off to run away again, she feels Daryls hand tug harshly at the back pocket of her shorts, trying  
>to drag her back,ripping the pocket clean off in the process.<p>

She squeals with shock and excitement, smiling at how much fun she's having, but when she turns around her  
>smile instantly falls.<p>

Daryl was kneeling on the ground, looking at something in his hand... it was the green gemstone. Shit.  
>Since finding the stone, Beth has kept it safely in her back pocket, taking it with her wherever she goes.<p>

He looked up at her with a mixture of hurt and anger written on his face, he stands abruptly. She doesn't  
>know what to say.<p>

"Tell me ye didn' have this all along." he asks, eerily calm.

She looks at him guiltily, she could never lie, was never any good at it.

Daryl starts to stalk towards her, getting right up in her face.

"Ye stood there when I asked Carol, when I lost my head over it, ye lied to my face  
>when I asked ye in the tower, like it was fuckin nuthn!" he was screaming, shaking with rage.<p>

Beth was trembling, not scared that he would hurt her but scared that she would loose his friendship,  
>a friendship which has grown everyday since their first session.<p>

"Daryl, 'm so sor..." she couldn't finish because Daryl was barrelling his way past her, heading towards  
>the fence with the gap.<br>No... he couldn't leave without talking to her first.

She was desperately running to catch up with him, tears rolling down her face.

"Daryl! please wait.. let me explain." she was yelling so he would hear her.

"Stay the fuck away from me Beth, ain't nuthn ye can say to fix this. " Daryl called over his shoulder  
>while yanking the cables free.<p>

He stepped through and started closing them back up as Beth stepped up to the fence, clinging onto the wire mesh.

"Daryl don't leave it like this.. please jus' come back in and I'll explain... 'm sorry." she sobbed through the fence.  
>He looked at her with such hatred now that it broke her heart, before he turned to walk into the trees, disappearing from her view.<br>She clung to the fence calling after him "Daryl please don' go!, please don' go!."  
>Beth repeated those words over and over, slowing sinking to the ground, her cries died down to a whisper,<br>"Please don' leave me."

**:( **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- Warning for hardcore bethylers - Caryl smut will be had, I know.. I know, gag, puke and and all that  
>but I felt it needed to be done and its very mild so not too bad.<br>Thanks to the reviewers again, I will never stop thanking you so if you insist on leaving reviews get used to it :)  
>So last chapter was in Beths pov and I know I said the povs would switch but this chapter<br>just wouldn't let me write in Daryls pov so you get two back to back Beth chapters.  
><strong>

_Chapter 5 -_

After Daryl left she sat by the fence till her backside started to ache, she was foolish to wait around thinking he would come back, why would  
>he after she betrayed his trust? Getting up off the ground, she made her way back to the prison.<p>

Keeping that stone was selfish of her, she wanted to give it back so many times, she thought about leaving it on his bed to find, but each time she  
>tried she backed out for reasons she wasn't sure of, it weighed heavy in her back pocket since she took it or stole it should she say?<br>The longer she put off giving it back the harder it became to part ways with it. Stupid stone.

When she first took it from the counter she had every intention of giving it back, why would she want a crappy little pebble anyway? Why would _he?  
><em>She told herself the next time she sees Daryl she would ask that question and just give it back, but the next time she saw Daryl he was a mess.

Beth watched Daryl stomp through the prison doors almost frantic, when his eyes landed on Carol he beelined straight for her.

He was twitchy and irritable, so not the Daryl she was used to seeing, and all for what? the inadequate little rock in her pocket?  
>When he snapped at Carol and she flinched away from him, she saw how upset that made Daryl, he looked so vulnerable, like<br>he was lost and didn't know which way to turn.

The stone must be some kind of peace of mind for him, she concluded, without it he wasn't the strong, fearless, confident Daryl she knew, he looked fragile and weak,  
>like a scared little puppy.<br>Daryl without that stone was not someone she liked seeing, so she told herself she would give it straight back when he cooled off  
>after he finished tinkering with his bike, she didn't want him snapping at her like he did Carol so she thought it best to give it back later.<p>

The walker attacked her not too long after that and suddenly the tables were turned, instead of Daryl being the weak one, the fragile one, the vulnerable lost  
>little puppy, it was her who was all those things. He was magnificent, strong.. brave, fighting the dead like it was as easy as breathing, he doesn't <em>need<em>  
>some stupid rock to make him strong and capable,... but <em>she <em>does.

_She_ needed to be all of those things Daryl is, _she_ needed the stone to provide for her what it provided for Daryl. Whether it be strength, courage, safety, just an overall peace of mind, she _needed _it, she needed a piece of Daryl that gave her comfort and if that made her selfish then so be it. Feeling safe was rare these days  
>and Daryl always made her feel like nothing could hurt her, so if keeping a piece of him meant safety, that's what she would do, she would keep it.<p>

The thought of telling Daryl the reason behind her deceit twisted up her belly, telling him meant letting him know how she felt,  
>how it wasn't Rick, or Maggie, or her daddy that she needed in her time of need or weakness, it was <em>him.<em> _Him_and his warmth and comfort,  
>and oh, that's a revalation she didn't want to admit to herself.<br>She felt more than lust and want for the surly, bad tempered redneck, she was falling... hard, and _that_ scared her more then being ripped open  
>and eaten alive by every walker in Georgia.<p>

Nothing could come of her feelings though, she could never hurt Rick, she loves him, how can she be in love with two men though?  
>She was so torn and confused, she just wanted to scream her frustrations out at the world.<p>

When she got back to the prison, she headed straight to her bed, emotionally and physically drained. Rick planned a run for the next day, she was to be  
>part of the group heading out on her very first scout, she needed all the sleep she could get.<p>

She woke at dawn, showered and dressed she headed back to her cell to prepare for the impending run.

"Ye jus' about ready? we're headin' out soon." Rick asked from the doorway of their cell with Judith in his arms.

"I think so.. I jus' need to tell Carol I'm goin' so she can watch Judy." she explains, taking the sleeping baby and placing her in the crib.

"A'right, will ye tell Daryl we leave in fifteen after your done with Carol? Need to round the others up."

"When did he get back?" she says not looking at Rick.

"Late last night I think, never got to ask why he thought a midnight stroll through the woods was a good idea." he says, looking confused.

Avoiding the conversation, she shrugs, making her way from the cell, she pecks him lightly on the cheek.

"I'll meet ye down there then". she says, making her way to Carols cell.

She just lied to Rick, lost in her thoughts of how much of a crappy person she is, she didn't stop to notice the low moans coming from  
>Carols cell before she swung the closed curtains back.<p>

If she could pour bleach in her eyes to stop her from seeing the scene unfolding before her she gladly would.

Carol was on her hands and knees on her bed, head buried in her pillow to muffle her screams, her hands were gripping the bed frame above her head,  
>holding on for dear life as Daryl sat behind her, pounding into her with brutal force.<p>

"That's it... ye like that huh? Daryl ground out, sweat glistening from his bulging arms as they hold steady to Carols hips.

He sat fully clothed with his trousers still around his ankles, he must have been in a rush, wanting a quicky before the run.  
>She couldn't help but look at his toned ass as it clenched up with each thrust.<p>

Just then, Daryl leaned forward holding Carols hands to the bed frame with one hand while the other tangled in her short hair, bringing  
>her head back off the pillow. "Wanna hear ye scream." he growled into her neck, biting down on her shoulder.<p>

For someone who wanted to bleach her eyes out she still couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene, her heart clenched  
>painfully in her chest, she felt sick to her stomach. Her breath hiccupped a strange gasping sob from her throat breaking the trance she<br>was in.

Daryl stops suddenly hearing her gasp, whipping his head, he looked shocked and somewhat _ashamed?_ when he noticed her standing there.

"Daryl! Don' stop.." Carol mewed, turning her head, Carol catches sight of her, frozen in the doorway.

Beth turned suddenly, eyes wide with shock she hurried out, closing the curtains back, standing outside the cell she says,

" I am so sorry, I didn't know.. I... we're heading out now and I came to tell ye Judy was in my cell asleep, and I am so sorry.. I should have knocked."  
>Beth rambled on mortified.<p>

"Um.. thank you Beth.. I'll be there in a minute, and its fine sweety.. ye weren't to know." Carol says behind the curtain, scrambling to get dressed.

"Uhh .. ok.. well I'll jus' go now... sorry again." Beth repeats, hurrying away from the the cell.

As she made her way to the yard where the rest of the group waited she couldn't help the tears that welled up,  
>her heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces, seeing Daryl like <em>that<em> with someone had her feeling so many things,  
>hurt, jealousy, anger, all the things she had no right to feel.<p>

Daryl wasn't her's, never would be, so why did she feel betrayed? He doesn't know how she feels about him and if he did it probably wouldn't change anything, he would still be with Carol and she would still be with Rick.

Composing herself, she wiped away her tears and headed to the cars, not stopping to meet and greet she climbed into the front seat of the car, waiting for the others  
>to join her.<p>

" Its not fair!" she hears Carl bellow. "_She's _aloud go, why cant I!?" she knows without having to look up that he is glaring her way.

"I said that's enough Carl! Beth's earned her place on this run, now get inside and help Carol with Judith." Rick hisses at his brat of a son.

She finally looks up to see Carl stomp up the yard while Daryl was making his way down towards Rick.

"Feeling better Dixon? heard ye weren't feelin' up for today." Michonne jokes, smirking at him.

"Yeah.. 'm good." Daryl says loud enough for her to hear from the car.

"Yeah... I bet ye are." Beth mutters bitterly under her breath.

"A'right, everyone is here, lets move out before it gets too late." Rick hollers, making his way to the car.

Rick jumps into the drivers seat while Michonne and Daryl climb into the backseat, starting the engine, they drive through the gates  
>to start their day of scavenging food from houses in small gated communities, something easy to start her off.<p>

They drove an hour to get to the housing estate, Beth sat with her feet propped up on the dash, staring at the landscape as it passed by.  
>She felt awkward sitting in the same car as Daryl, his perfect naked ass was all she could think about.<br>When they turned to drive past the first few houses she sat up a little straighter, planting her feet on the floor, these houses were huge,  
>she was mesmerized by how beautiful it all was. It seemed almost untouched.<p>

They came to a stop outside one of the houses, everyone started moving around, preparing their weapons before exiting the car.

"I want us in pairs, take a house each and stick to finding the kitchens first, our priority is food before anything else." Rick instructed, looking  
>around sceptically.<p>

Beth started walking towards Rick, assuming he intended for her to stick with him, but was stopped in her tracks when he spoke suddenly,

"Beth, you're with Daryl, Michonne, you're with me." he said, nonchalantly.

Looking at everyone's confused faces, Rick continued, "Daryl has the most experience scouting through houses, Beth is the least experienced,  
>most and least go together." he sighs, like what he said was the most obvious answer.<p>

Daryl looked like he wanted to run, like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world than be stuck with her, stuck with someone he  
>probably hates.<p>

"Meet back at the car in an hour." Rick says, giving both her and Daryl a small nod before turning to leave with Michonne.

Oh goodie, she thought, a whole hour of awkwardly following after a man who didn't want her anywhere near him.

"Com'on." Daryl grumbled, turning in the opposite direction from Rick.

She walked silently behind him, keeping one eye on her surroundings and the other on his ass they came up to the front door of their first house.  
>Daryl bangs loudly on the door, waiting for any sign of movement, when non came he slowly turned the handle and entered with her close behind.<br>They located the kitchen easy enough and started the task of searching the dozens of cabinets, the silence was starting to grate on her,  
>he hadn't spared her one glance since they started.<p>

"So are we gonna talk bout the elephant in the room or are ye gonna ignore me forever?" she huffs, stopping to look at him only to be ignored.

"Daryl! can ye at least acknowledge I'm here and look at me when I talk to ye?! she shouts angrily, throwing her hands in the air frustrated.

"Keep your damn voice down woman!" he hisses, finally meeting her eyes with a deep scowl.

"We need to talk bout yesterday Daryl, ye need to let me explain because I can' stand ye hatin' me." she whispers, calming down she start to walk towards him.

"Ain't nuthn to 'splain, ye lied, you're a fuckin' liar who don' give two fucks bout anyone but yourself." he spat, taking his own menacing steps forward.

Stopping a foot away from one another, Beth tries to find the courage to just tell him the truth. The truth that could make him hate her more or  
>like her too much. Either way, she was screwed. He didn't wanna hear her excuses but she was gonna try anyway.<p>

"I kept your stone because after I got attacked I was.._. afraid."_ She whispered the last word, half hoping he didn't hear what she said.  
>She didn't wanna look weak in front of him but what she would say next would surely make her look pathetic.<p>

He stared at her confused, anger still evident on his face, waiting for her to finish.

" When I remembered I had your stone I felt strong, I thought if I kept it I would feel fearless, like it makes you feel,  
>like nothing could touch me. I wasn't scared when I knew it was in my pocket..it was like having <em>you <em>with me too, I know it sounds silly,  
>but havin' a piece of you with me made me feel safe... because.. <em>you <em>make me feel safe.. _you_ Daryl.. not Rick or Maggie."

She looked at Daryl hoping he understood what she was trying to tell him, he looked back at her with such intensity in his eyes,  
>she couldn't look away even if she tried, transfixed by his deep blues penetrating her very soul.<p>

"I was selfish for not givin' it back knowin' how upset ye were when ye lost it, and 'm so sorry, 'm sorry I lied to ye bout havin' it but I couldn'  
>give it up then, I wasn' ready, if that makes any sense."<p>

She waited for him to say something, she needed him to forgive her and be her friend again, but after her revelation, she's not sure if friendship  
>is what he'd want from her, if it would be enough for him, he had to know her friendship was all she could offer him, she has to make that clear, that what she<br>said didn't matter because _he _has Carol and _she _has Rick.

"Makes sense to _me._" He says, with a small forgiving smile, he looked as if he was contemplating something, then without any warning he lunged forward.

**This chapter turned out longer than I expected so I had to split it in two, that means I had to end it there  
>and I didn't intend it ending on a cliffhanger but that's the way it wanted to end.. sorry! :) It turned out nothing<br>like I had planned, there was supposed to be a kiss but it didn't happen, I rewrote this like three times and still  
>don't know if I'm happy with it. I also never planned for it to be such a slow burn.. why even plan chapters when they<br>seem to have minds of their own.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - Thank you to all the reviewers, you people are the best! :) xoxo  
>Forgot to say in my last an that the Caryl smut in the last chapter was  
>the only Caryl smut I will be writing, the rest of the story is Bethyl. ( yaayy finally )<br>The povs are getting all muddled so... that's out the window.  
>WARNING.. talk of suicideself harm in this chapter.  
>K.. on with the story...<strong>

_Chapter 6 -_

It killed him leaving Beth at the fence crying her eyes out, but he couldn't stay, he was too angry.  
>He wasn't any good with blubbering women anyway, so he done the only thing he knew, he hightailed it outta there.<br>Wandering through the woods, sticking close to the prison, he thought of Beth.

The last three weeks training Beth was as educational for him as it was for her, he had learned to be more patient, more relaxed, just.. _more,_ and all because  
>of her<em>. <em>Their friendship grew to more than he could have ever imagined, they talked about everything while sparring, talked about her life on the farm before the turn to _his_ life on the road with Merle. When they knew practically everything there was to know about each other, they moved on to mundane topics, like how they planned to spend the rest of their day, what was for dinner, who they thought was hooking up in the prison.

He couldn't help notice that from all the things they talked about, it never included talk of Rick or Carol, they danced round that topic like it was  
>something forbidden to talk about.<p>

When Beth pins _him_ to the ground on one particular training day, he cant help but be proud of how far she's come, and on _that _particular day, he  
>cant help but <em>know, <em>that he's hopelessly falling for Beth Greene. He cant help comparing his feelings he has for Carol and Beth,  
>Carol he knows he has strong feelings for, he would never tell her, she would get the wrong idea but, he loves her.. not <em>in <em>love, but love all the same.  
>Beth, he has never felt what he feels for her, he couldn't put his finger on it at first, why his heart clenched and stomach tightened whenever he was<br>around her, but when she pinned him and he looked into her smiling happy eyes, he knew... this had to be love.

His realisation made it sting more when he discovered she was keeping his stone all this time and worse.. lied about it.  
>He trusted her more than anyone, did she do it to fuck with him? She knew how fucked up he was without it, and he feels like<br>a crazy person for needing a fuckin' stone in a world where the dead wanna make a meal of him, there's enough shit to worry about than a fuckin' stone,  
>but its safety and its his mother and he's so fuckin' mad at Beth right now.<p>

He woke up in his cell the next morning, sneaking into the prison was too easy, he's gonna have words with whoever was on watch.

Remembering he was to go on the run that day made him groan, it was too soon to see _her _face, he was still mad at her.

He was wound up so tight, he needed to let it out before this run or he wouldn't be able to concentrate, he thought of using his hand but that's a  
>waste of perfectly good pussy he has just down the hall.<p>

When Beth walked in on him fuckin' Carol, she stood at the door looking _hurt?_ Why the fuck did _she _look hurt?  
>He couldn't help but feel like he was betraying her with the way she looked at him, like he was cheating on her or somethin'.<br>When he was about to leave Carols cell she stopped him ,

"We need to talk when ye get back." she says, looking at him sadly.

"Jus' spit it out now, don' wanna be thinkin' bout what has ye lookin' so sad all day."

She swallows hard grasping his hand, "I think we should end this Daryl, you and me, we don' work... we never did." she says, gripping harder on his hand.

"Ye couldn't tell me this before we fucked? he says, rubbing the back of her hand reassuringly, not questioning her reasoning.

"Yeah.. but it was a nice way to end things, to say goodbye." she says with a sad smile.

"This ain't goodbye, jus' a new start for us, you're still my girl." he smirks, kissing the back of her hand.

" And you're still my Pookie,.. jus' remember... I loved ye first."

He was surprised when Carol ended them, but she was right, they never worked as a couple, he was just happy she had the guts he didn't to end things.  
>She deserves to be with someone who can love her with <em>all <em>their heart.

He felt awkward as fuck sitting in the car with Beth, staring at the back of her head for an hour trying to see into her thoughts,  
>why did she look so hurt? Its not as if she never seen a mans naked ass before, it cant look <em>that <em>bad. Can it?  
>He couldn't imagine her being hurt because she had actual feelings for <em>him<em>, she has Rick... Rick and his perfect face, with his perfect hair and perfect little family.  
>She would never want <em>him<em>, with his sruffy face, with his scraggy hair, scarred back and fucked up abusive family.

When Rick paired him with Beth he wanted to say 'Hell fuckin' no!' but that might raise a couple suspicious eyebrows, so he kept quiet and  
>pretended like she wasn't even there. Just get through this quick and pretend like she wasn't there, yeah... easier said then done when she's<br>stubborn as a mule.

She rambled on, explaining why she kept the stone and he understands, of course he could understand when that was the exact same reason _he _kept  
>the damn thing. He had forgiven her before she even started to talk, how could he not? when she looked at him with those sad puppy dog eyes.<br>He was still annoyed she lied about having it, wishing she would trust him enough to be able to tell him anything.  
>He couldn't help but pick out a certain part of her rambling... the part when she said that <em>he<em> made her feel safe, that she needed _him... _not her perfect Rick.

What does this mean? Is she trying to tell him she cares about him, she's looking at him like she needs him to understand something,  
>god .. he just wishes she wasn't all cryptic and just say what the fuck is on her mind.<br>He hears her finish with " If that makes any sense?" with _that_ look again.

Suddenly it does, it all makes senses, he sees it in her eyes, in the way she inches her way slowly towards him, in all the small moments and touches his  
>small minded head couldn't see before... Beth has feelings for him, he doesn't dare hope the feeling is love because if he's wrong and he gets his hopes up,<br>he doesn't think his heart could take that.

"Makes sense to _me." _he whispers, knowing she wouldn't get the double meaning to his answer.

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Daryl lunges forward, gripping the front of her shirt he yanks her forward, pushing her behind him as he plunges his knife into the skull  
>of a walker who was dangerously close.<p>

"Fuck, tha' was close." he exclaims, giving her a smile she never thought she'd see again.

"You're always saving me." she says, smiling back at him with gratitude.

He shrugs off her last comment like she was expecting and starts to rummage through the kitchen again.  
>She doesn't take his shortness with her as a bad thing... his smile tells her she's forgiven, so she doesn't question it and helps him in his search.<br>It was a comfortable silence, she couldn't help but smile as she searched through the cabinets, when he spoke she jumped startled, not  
>expecting to hear his voice.<p>

"S'not much here, think we should move to the next house." It wasn't a question but he looked awkwardly at her, waiting for an answer.

"Uhm.. yeah... lead the way." she says, gathering her pack of her meagre findings.

They weren't so luck with the next house when it came to walkers, Daryl banged at the door and was immediately met with loud thumping and groaning  
>from the other side.<p>

"Skip this one." he whispers, taking out some chalk from his pocket, he writes across the door 'DEAD INSIDE'.

She smiled at his thoughtfulness, following him to the next house, which would be their last, seeing as she wasted most of the time they were supposed to be  
>scavenging , talking and nearly getting killed.<br>They had no problem getting into the next house and thankfully it was untouched, the pantry was stocked full of food, problem was... it was a small space so it would be a tight squeeze with both of them.

Daryl took a large bed sheet from his bag and placed it on the floor, she looked at him confused.

"Makeshift bag... throw all the shit in the middle and we'll wrap it up and carry it out." he explains, walking into the pantry.

Yeah.. of course it was for the food... definitely _not _for her to lay down on while he lies on top of her.

She slips into the tight space, her and Daryl stood back to back, making sure not to take anything expired, she sets to work taking the food from the shelves.

"So.. Carl still hates ye." Daryl muses, still at work.

She's surprised he starts talking first, usually she was the one to initiate any conversation, she loves their talks, no matter how mundane.

"Not funny! she laughs, I'm not his biggest fan either."

"Ye never did tell me why ye don' bother with him no more, 's not like ye to hold grudges." Daryl asks.

She didn't tell anyone how Carl had called her a slut and that it brought up terrible traumatic memories for her, but telling Daryl felt like  
>the right thing to do, she trusted him and knew he would never judge her.<p>

"Carl called me a slut." she confesses, when Daryl doesn't say anything, she knows he's waiting for further explanation.

"When I was fifteen, I was a junior at school... I fell in love with the most popular guy in school, Jimmy. He was a senior, quarterback of the football team,  
>his family were like royalty in town, and he was way outta my league. I was jus' this scrawny little farm girl, pining over a guy who already had a girlfriend,<br>she was the captain of the cheer squad, gorgeous, all the guys wanted her. Jimmy dumped her for me before anything happened between us, not even a kiss, I told him  
>I wasn't bein' his dirty little secret, so if he wanted to be with me he had to break things off with her first."<p>

Telling Daryl the next part was going to be hard, feeling him at her back helped her to carry on.

"When everyone found out at school, that's when the rumours started, they said that Jimmy cheated on cheer bitch with me, that I was a harlot who steals  
>other girls boyfriends. Jimmy tried to defend me but it was no use... the whole school hated me.. every time I walked through the halls I'd hear,<br>'There's the slut,... whore's burn in hell,... slut,slut,slut. every god damn day. My locker was spray painted with slut in big red letters... I jus' couldn't take it anymore."

Everyone in the prison knows of her cutting her wrist, but only her family knew that it wasn't the first time she has tried to end her life.

She swallows a lump in her throat "I took some of my daddy's pain meds he keeps at home for the animals on our farm, I overdosed and woke up in hospital  
>the next day." She finishes emptying the shelves, a single tear rolled down her cheek as she waited for Daryl to say 'Ye selfish little girl' or something to that effect, she was surprised when she feels him turning round to wrap his arms around her from behind, he rests his chin on top of her head, she feels so small in his arms.<p>

"Ye gotta put tha' away Beth, or it kills ye... in here." he whispers, placing his large hand over her heart.

She feels her heart race against his hand, remembering she had told him the same thing during their training session, when he  
>opened up to her about his father, trusting her with the secret of his scarred back.<br>She never felt as close to someone as she does in this moment.

She turns slowly in his arms, gripping the front of his shirt with her tiny fist, she cant look him in the eye so she stares down at her hand gripping him.  
>All she wants is to reach up and kiss him till she cant breath, her breath stutters when he takes her chin in his hand, bringing her head up to meet his eyes.<br>Daryl cups her face with both hands, rubbing his thumb along her cheek, she can tell he wants to kiss her by the way he glances down to her lips...  
>but <em>that<em> just couldn't happen.

She squeezed her eyes shut, she cant do this, she wants to so bad.. but she cant. There's a war going on in her head, she cant help but  
>get upset. Opening her eyes now brimming with tears, she sees Daryl looking hurt and that tears her apart.<p>

"Imma make this real easy on ye Beth." he whispers, still cupping her face, ... "nothin' is ever gonna happen 'tween us, ye love Rick... _he's_ good for ye,  
>ye <em>are <em>better then those cheer bitches, and you'd never do wha' they blamed ye on doin'... you're good Beth and ...ye deserve a man like Rick.  
>You'll have your damn romance novel kinda love and probably have a baby of your own, you'll probably get married and ye <em>will<br>_get your happy ever after...but it won' be with me. I.. don' wan' ye like that.. a'right? I have Carol, you got Rick.."

Daryl drops his hands from her face and shuffles out of the pantry, he turns his back to her gathering up the sheet on the floor full of food. She feels like she lost something  
>she never had in the first place, her heart is breaking from his final words. never.. she would <em>never<em> know what it would be like to kiss him, to _be _with him,  
>he made that decision for her. He doesn't want her... he never has, how could she read into this so wrong, she's so stupid.<p>

She silently helps him carry out the heavy sack of food to the car, loading it into the trunk they wait in more silence for Rick and Michonne.

When they _do_ arrive, she notices Michonne's pissed off face, looking like she wanted to kill someone, Rick followed close behind looking  
>just as aggravated. Michonne walks right past her with a duffle, not looking at anyone, she throws it into the trunk with force and climbs into the car without a word.<br>Beth looks at Rick with raised eyebrows in question, he merely shrugs and follows suit, climbing into the car. When she looks at Daryl, he avoids her eyes,  
>instead, he chooses to glare in Michonne and Rick's direction.<p>

They all set off back to the prison, the atmosphere in the car was tense, obviously something happened that Rick wasn't telling her,  
>did they get attacked? Were they mad they didn't find much food... she would find out from Rick when they got back, and then she thought of Daryl.<p>

What would happen when they got back to the prison? Would he ignore her? Would he not wanna train her anymore? Would he feel awkward around her now  
>that he knows she has unrequited feelings for him?<p>

She needs to just get over him... he made it perfectly clear he wasn't interested in her like that, just because he's nice to her, just because he told her things he's never told anyone, and just because he looks at her with fondness in his eyes.. doesn't mean he likes her... doesn't mean anything at all.  
>Looking out the window watching the world pass by, she cant help but think, she has a long way to travel before she can stop being in love with Daryl Dixon.<p>

**I'M SORRY! :)) But not really because I am soo excited to write the next chapter.. (hint,hint, wink,wink) ;) x**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - I hope thank you isn't getting old yet? THANK YOU! To all the readers and reviewers,  
>you make my day with your kind words. :) Special shout out to eReedus, your help and support<br>has been amazing. This chapter is the one I've been most looking forward to writing so I hope  
>you like it. x<br>**

_Chapter 7 -_

He sees and observes everything with his sharp hunter eyes, so when Michonne and Rick returns, he _sees_.

He sees Michonne trying to avoid eye contact, especially with Beth. He sees Rick trying to act completely normal, but he puts it on too much so, he _sees.  
><em>The barley there hand print across Ricks face is what really gets his attention though, a dead give away, its what has him glaring at the two of them as he stands by the car raging inside.  
>He wont show his anger, not when Beth is standing feet away trying to get his attention with her piercing eyes, he cant look at her, she might know what he's<br>thinking if he does, and if she knew what he was thinking, her kind, loving heart would be broken.

When they get back to the prison it was around noon, getting up at the crack of dawn was taking its toll,  
>all he wants to do right now is go to bed, bury his face in his pillow, and <em>not <em>think  
>about Beth, but first he needs to talk with Michonne so she can tell him he's wrong, he <em>really <em>wants to be wrong.

They all exit the car, Michonne doesn't look at any of them before she starts in the direction of the prison.  
>The food needs to be dealt with but fuck it, they done all the hard work, let the Woodbury newbies sort that shit out.<br>Michonne is closer to the prison, he needs to catch up to her, needs to put his mind at rest.

"I'mma head in, 'm tired." he lied, looking from Beth to Rick who were already pulling the heavy loot from the trunk.

He didn't stop for any objections before practically running to catch up to Michonne, she would tell him he's crazy, then he would go to bed  
>and chide himself for being so stupid.<br>He catches up with her walking in the direction of the library, he calls out to her but she enters the library without acknowledging him.  
>When he enters shortly after, she's standing in front of him looking pissed.<p>

"Leave me alone Dixon, I'm in no mood for this right now." Michonne exhales, annoyed.

"I need to know a'right... 'm not goin' nowhere till ye talk, he says, backing up to the door to block her way of escape.

She stares through him like she's lost in her own head, like he's not even standing feet away from her.

"A'right,... jus' tell me 'm wrong... tell me.. and I'll leave righ' now." he implores, taking a step forward to snap her out of her thoughts.

"How bout I jus' make you leave." she hisses, unsheathing her katana, pointing it at his chest.

He puts his hands in the air in surrender, but he has no intention of leaving without an answer.

"I .. ain't.. goin'.. nowhere." he says slowly, taking a another step, making her katana press against his breastbone.

She looks at him annoyed, dropping her katana to her side, she moves to sit on top of a nearby table.

"Tellin' you wont do anybody any good, .. trust me." she says, sheathing her weapon.

He sighs loudly, running his hand down his face tiredly, "Wha' happened Michonne, this ain't goin' away!"

Her resolve seems to waver when she figures he's not going to drop it, she takes a deep breath to ready herself.

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She stands on the counter rummages through the top cabinets of the second house, there's not much food at all, the previous owners must have taken most of  
>the good stuff with them.<br>They got a decent loot from the first house, so she's not too disheartened.

"Find anything over there?" Rick asks, walking towards her.

"No.. lets do the next one, place is bare." Michonne says, turning around getting ready to jump from the counter top.

Rick lifts his arms up to take her waist, he sets her on the floor but still has a grip around her hips, squeezing gently.

"Ye know... I've always thought if me and Beth never got together, tha' you and me would have been a thing."

She lifts her eyebrows in shock, did he just say what she thinks he said?

"Rick that's..." she was cut off by Ricks mouth pressing against her own.

She instantly reels back, covering her mouth with one hand, she uses the other hand to smack him firmly across the face.

"What the hell was that? don't you ever do that again Rick, I cant believe you!" she yells, pushing at his chest to keep some distance between them.

Rick rubs at his soar cheek stunned, "What? You're surprised? You were sending me signals since we left the car." he says, looking annoyed.

"What!? You are delusional if you think that... what signals!?" she bellows angrily.

"Ye were bendin' over, showin' me your ass like you knew I'd be watchin', don' act like ye didn't want it." he explains.

"Bending over? Ye mean when I was trying to get to the bottom cabinets... oh I'm sorry... did you want me to use my feet to look so I don't have to bend  
>over, seducing you with my ass!? Michonne shouts sarcastically, collecting her duffle to leave the kitchen.<p>

"Don' give me tha', ye knew what ye were doin'!" Rick shouts back, following her out the door.

"I didn't Rick, but _you _did... did ye not think of Beth before you were checkin' out my ass or kissing me?" she asks angrily.

Rick suddenly grabs hold of her arm to stop her going any further, he looks manic.

"Don' ye fuckin' think abou' tellin' Beth wha' jus' happened, tha' was a mistake... if ye say one word to anyone, you'll  
>be out on your ass so quick..." he hisses through clenched teeth.<p>

She was stunned, she didn't plan on telling Beth, it would only cause problems for everyone in the prison, but seeing Rick like this made  
>her doubt if she should, this isn't the Rick they all know and loved.<br>Snatching her arm away, she glared at him before exiting the house where she could see Beth and Daryl waiting.

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Michonne finished telling Daryl what happened, and wasn't surprised that he was pacing like a caged animal around the library.  
>Daryl grabs a book from the table and throws it hard against the door, Michonne sat on the table, unfazed by his outburst.<p>

"Shit!... how could he do somethin' like tha'? It jus' don' sound like Rick... he loves Beth." he huffs, stopping in front of her.

"Yeah well, he's got a funny way of showin' it, I don't know what to do Daryl... he'll throw me from the prison if I tell her." she exhales, exasperated.

"Like hell he will! Imma go have a talk with him... ye leave it to me a'right?" he reassures, "Fuckers gonna learn if he plays with fire, he's gonna get burned."  
>he says, stomping from the library on a mission.<p>

Daryl calms down when he comes up to Ricks cell, he doesn't want Beth to suspect anything's wrong, luckily for him, Rick is alone and his anger gets reignited.  
>He storms into his cell, grabbing Rick by his shirt collar, slamming him into the cement wall.<p>

"You're a piece of shit, ye know tha'?" Daryl growls, his face inches from Ricks.

"I take it Michonne told ye then?" Rick puffs, out of breath from being slammed into the wall.

"How ye gonna do tha' to Beth, ye don' know how fuckin' lucky ye are havin' a girl like her." he says, tightening his grip.

Rick looks at him as if he's figured him out, he starts to laugh lowly, pissing Daryl off more.

"Tha' wha' this is _really _about?... Ye have feelings for Beth huh?" he chuckles, amused. "Girl like Beth is outa your league Daryl, even _if_ I am cheatin' on  
>her, she'd <em>still<em> be better off with me and ye know it." Rick says, trying to push at Daryl's chest to get himself free.

Daryl slams him against the wall again, "She's better off without either of us, so 'm only gonna say this one time... break up with Beth... leave Michonne alone,  
>ye do tha'... and I won' tell Beth how much of a cheatin' lowlife ye are." he snarls.<p>

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She was just finished helping Julie, one of the new Woodbury women, put all of the food away in the storage room.

"Thank ye for helping Julie, can ye tell Carol when ye see her tha' I went to feed Judy?" Beth asks, with a friendly smile.

"Sure thing honey, give that sweet little girl a kiss from me." Julie smiles back.

She makes her way to her cell, she cant wait to see her lil' ass kicker, between being trained and doing chores, she hasn't been  
>spending as much time with her as she'd like.<br>She stops at the entrance of her cell, shocked to find Daryl pinning Rick up against the wall.

"What's goin' on!?" she asks worriedly. When neither of them answer and continue to stare each other down , she steps into the cell.

"Rick!.. Daryl! Someone had better answer me now!" she croaks.

Daryl releases Rick with a shove, "Jus' a misunderstandin'... ain't that righ' Daryl?" Rick explains dryly.

Daryl looks at her and nods, "Yeah... 's nuthn." he shrugs, heading out of her cell.

"Tell me wha' tha' was about Rick..._that _wasn't 'nuthn'." she says, frustrated at being lied to.

Rick looks to be contemplating something, then surprises her with his next words.

"I kinda caught Daryl and Michonne goin' at it in the library." he says, nonchalantly.

She felt her stomach drop to the floor at his words, Daryl and Michonne? He wouldn't kiss _her _because he had Carol, but he's ok fuckin'  
>Michonne behind Carols back!?<br>Beth wasn't gonna delude herself into thinking Daryl didn't want her because he already had two women on the line, the fact of the matter was that he  
>didn't want<em> her<em> like that, why would he when he had Michonne, all curves and boobs, looking like an Amazonian goddess, and Carol,  
>she's everything a man like Daryl would want in a woman.<p>

Looking at herself she cringed, how did she ever think a man like Daryl would ever want someone like her, thin, flat chested, just a girl compared to  
>his obvious womanly preferences.<p>

"Wh... are ye sure? Why was he so angry at _you _though?" she asks, she couldn't help sounding hurt.

"He thinks imma go and tell Carol his dirty little secret, threatened me if I open my mouth." he explains

She was hurt at first, but now she's just plain angry, how dare he threaten Rick because he got caught with his pants down, literally.  
>How could he cheat on Carol?<p>

"Now, I don' wan' ye runnin' off and sayin' this back to anyone, specially Daryl and Michonne, it'll only serve to hurt Carol and cause  
>all sorts of trouble in the prison, so promise me you'll keep this to yourself." Rick implores, reaching out to pull her into a hug.<p>

She was so torn, on one hand, she didn't wanna hurt Carol or cause any friction in their home, and on the other hand, she wanted nothing more then to  
>scream and shout at Daryl for not being the man she thought he was.<p>

"I won' say anything... I uhm... I promise." she reassures, giving him a final squeeze before letting go.

After feeding Judy and handing her off to Carl, she starts off towards the showers, not looking where she was walking, she collides with  
>the one person she didn't want to see, Daryl.<br>His hair is wet from a shower he obviously had seeing as he was looking squeaky clean, his clean scent surrounds her as he grips her shoulders, preventing her from  
>falling.<p>

"Ye a'right?" he asks, in his low grumbling voice,concern marring his face.

She glares at him angrily, shaking him of of her, she cant feel his touch on her right now, it kinda disgusts her at the moment.

"'M fine... 'scuse me." she grits out, trying to side step him to the shower room.

Daryl grabs hold of her wrist, keeping her from moving past him, "Did Rick speak with ye? 'S tha' why your angry?"

She knows she promised Rick she would hold her tongue, but seeing Daryl melts away her resolve. She cant hold it in.

"Yeah he did, and yes.. it is why I'm angry, and tha' is why ye should let go of me righ'... now." she hisses, yanking her hand away.

"Hey!.. don' take this ou' on me, I know you're hurtin' but..."

"Hurt!.. Get over yourself Daryl, yeah.. I _had_ feelings for ye, but not anymore, jus' stay away from me and Rick from now on." she says, her voice wavering at the end.

She doesn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing she's still in love with him, so she lies easily to him because she's so angry.

Daryl face scrunches up in pain like she had just punched him in the gut, but his pain soon changes to anger, "Wha' the fuck did he say to ye? he hisses.

"Ye know wha' he said, I thought ye were better then that Daryl... guess I was wrong." she whispers, trying to keep the tears at bay, trying to sidestep him again.

He grabs hold of her once again, "Better than wha'!? Can ye jus' fuckin' tell me wha' he said to ye!? he says, confused.

"He told me ye threatened him cause he saw ye with Mich, ye thought he'd spill your dirty secret to Carol, so ye threatened him." she huffs, frustrated that  
>he wanted her to tell him something he already knew, why?... to hurt her more?<p>

"That's a fuckin' lie." he growls, gritting his teeth together.

Why did he just lie to her face? Rick wouldn't come up with something so horrible.

"Rick would never lie to me... I seen ye with my own eyes, ye had him against the wall Daryl." she says, angrily.

"Rick wouldn't lie to ye, but I would? ye see wha' ye wanna see Beth..."

"Then tell me what I think I was seeing, cause it don' look good Daryl!" she exclaims.

He looked torn, like he wanted to tell her but couldn't.

"Think wha' ye wan'... ye already made up ye damn mind bout me anyway." he says, releasing her hand to stalk away.

She watched him leave, anger and guilt coursing through her, how dare he make her feel guilty, like she was the bad guy in this, she  
>enters the shower thinking, 'maybe, trying not to love Daryl Dixon wouldn't be so hard after all.'<p>

She leaves the showers, heading to her cell, she wanted to talk with Rick but he was nowhere to be seen, she sees Carol as she goes in search of him.

"Hey Carol, have ye seen Rick anywhere?" she enquires, finding it hard to look her in the eye, knowing what she knows.

"I think I seen him walkin' in the direction of the boiler room sweetie, and I meant to ask you about Daryl earlier." Carol smiles sadly at her.

Ughh.. Daryl was the last thing she wanted to talk about with her, but she couldn't deny her.

"What's up?" Beth says, trying to sound cheerful.

"I'm jus' worried about him, I know you two are close with training, ...how was he after he left on the run this morning?" Carol asks, concerned.

Oh god.. does Carol suspect Daryl is cheating on her? Why was she asking her these kind of questions?

"Umm.. he seemed ok.. nothing outta the ordinary." she says, nonchalantly.

"Oh.. good, I just thought he'd be in a mood after our breakup, but he's fine so that's good." she says, genuinely pleased.

"Yeah he's... wait what? Did ye jus' say you and Daryl broke up? When? Why?" Beth said in a rush.

"He didn't tell ye?.. I broke it off this morning before he left on the run, and it's kinda obvious why... we jus' didn't work." she says sadly.

"Oh... uh.. 'm sorry to hear that, Daryl didn't mention it.. think he wanted to concentrate on the run." she reassures.

"It's fine Beth, me and Pookie were only ever meant to be friends, he understand... I gotta class to teach soon so I'll talk to ye later sweetheart."

Beth nods absentmindedly, not noticing that Carol had left, Daryl isn't with Carol anymore... so why would he threaten Rick?  
>She made her way to the boiler room, intending to ask Rick that very question.<br>Why would Daryl care if Carol found out about him and Michonne when he was single? Unless he _was _cheating on Carol before she broke up with him?  
>She had to talk to Daryl again, nothing is making sense to her anymore, maybe Rick <em>was <em>the one who lied, but why?

Just as she was asking herself that question, she got her answer as she entered the boiler room.

Across the dark room stood Rick, but he wasn't alone, Woodbury Julie was wrapped around him while he pressed her into the wall, he was fuckin' her with  
>such force she noticed, Beth couldn't help ask out loud, "Why couldn't ye ever fuck <em>me<em> like tha'!?"

**So there it is... I wanted to give the impression that Bethyl would be the one to cheat, but turns out, Rick is the one  
>with the cheating heart. My Bethyl babies are angels... they would never cheat.. shame on you for thinking that. ;)<br>Next chapter is gonna be intense... :)) x**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N - Long note here regarding guest reviews I cant reply to. Guest called Smee, thank you for your honesty, I .. in no way,intended for  
>the characters to sound like 'Hillbillies', I meant no offence, my use of 'Ye' instead of 'Ya' was an oversight, if you read my profile you will see I'm Irish, so I'm sorry my accent got mixed up in the story, in future I will use 'Ya' or the normal 'You'. I am not offended by your review, it's actually the opposite, I love feedback like yours... it lets me know what I'm doing right and wrong and I implore my other reviewers to do the same, if you see an error I would like to know :) Also, regarding Rick being ooc, I intended for that. It will be explained soon, so I hope people weren't too upset, I know Rick is like a touchy thing to readers if his character is messed with.<br>Ok... Thank you to all the reviewers, as a treat...lots of Bethyl in this extra long chapter. ;) x **

_Chapter 8 -_

To explain heartbreak is hard, saying it's the worst kind of pain a person would ever feel in their lifetime is an understatement, because  
>she actually feels like someone is reaching into her chest, squeezing her heart into nothing to try and rip it from her body, it feels like death. Breathing is hard, her stomach churns, making her feel like she's going to vomit, her body starts to shake involuntarily, and her brain goes into overdrive, a thousand questions pass through her mind in the blink of an eye, 'Why? When? How? Was it me? Did <em>I <em>do something? Could I have done something different to prevent this? Is this even real?'

After she shouted "Why couldn't ya ever fuck _me_ like tha?" Rick suddenly stopped, his whole body stiffened as he turned his head, still buried in the  
>whore Julie.<p>

"Shit.. Beth!" Rick says shocked, pulling himself from Julie, setting her on the floor. They were both fully naked and scrambling to find their scattered clothes  
>on the floor.<p>

She stood frozen after her outburst, the tears she was expecting never came, she couldn't see this, couldn't be here.  
>Backing up from the room, she turns to run away, running into something solid but not looking up to see what or who it was, just running.<p>

"Beth.. wait!" She hears Rick plead, but she's already too far gone to care, she keeps running.

She doesn't know where she's going at first when she runs out of the prison, but then she sees the fence Daryl escaped through to get away from her,  
>running again she shakily unties the cables, making sure to retie them, she's not completely out of it to risk other peoples lives because of her need to escape. Not stopping to spare a second glance at her home, she heads into the woods, always running.<p>

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He was coming back from checking the fences, he needed some air after his talk with Beth.  
>All his life he's been judged by people, no matter how far he travelled, he couldn't escape the looks, the looks he was so used to seeing.. that is until Beth looked at him that same way not long ago.<p>

He thought she was different, thought she could see _some_ good in him that others couldn't or wouldn't, turns out he was wrong, she's just another disappointment that he got too close to, well never again.  
>It didn't matter that she was fed some bullshit story by Rick, and that she didn't know the real story, fact is... she believed it.<br>She believed the worst in him, she thought he could do something as despicable as what she was accusing him of.

He wanted to tell her everything, how Rick lied to her, that _he_ was the one that was kissing Michonne, but he couldn't.  
>She had already made her mind up about him anyway, the disgusted looks she was throwing his way was proof enough for him,<br>she would always side with Rick, believe Rick... pick Rick.  
>Its a good thing she doesn't have feelings for him anymore, makes it easier for him to move on and let her be with the cheater she thinks hangs the moon, let her be with Rick, he doesn't care anymore,... doesn't care because he's done with her.<p>

When he enters the prison, he starts towards his cell, only to be stopped by Michonne.

"Dixon... thought you should know, I seen Rick go into the boiler room with one of the women from Woodbury." she whispers, not wanting anyone to overhear.

"I don' give a fuck, not my business, not my problem." he says, starting towards his cell again.

"Did I mention I overheard Carol telling Beth that Rick was heading in the direction of the boiler room?" she bellows after him.

That stops him dead in his tracks, "Shit... why didn' ya stop her?" he asks, turning back around, he starts running to the boiler room not waiting for an answer.

Just as he was stopping in front of the boiler room, Beth comes crashing out, hardly noticing him when she smacks right into his chest.  
>When she starts to run off he intended to run after her, but his plans changed when he hears Rick calling out for her to wait.<br>He hopes to god that she didn't find out about Rick like he thinks she did, he enters the room to a sight that makes his blood boil.  
>Rick is fighting to get his pants on, while bimbo is busy putting her dress back on. Motherfucker.<p>

Daryl doesn't stop to think when he charges at Rick in a blind rage, kissing Michonne was nothing really, he could go on living with no guilty conscience for not telling Beth about a little kiss, 'it ain't cheatin' if ya don' stick your dick in', Merle would say after fingering some hooker in a bar, he rarely had  
>steady girls, and when he did, he was never faithful. But <em>this,<em> this was different, this was _fuckin' _another woman, this _is_ cheating.

He doesn't know how long he's been punching Rick in the face, going by Rick's already swelling and bloodied face, and _his _aching, bloody knuckles, he's thinking.. long enough.  
>Daryl was too much in his own head that he didn't notice the shrill screams of bimbo begging him to stop, he stops, shakily getting to his feet, bimbo immediately goes to cradle Ricks head in her lap.<p>

He leaves the room, not feeling as good as he thought he would after giving Rick what he deserved, he actually feels like shit.  
>He needs to find Beth, tell her he's sorry he didn't tell her when he had the chance, instead she had to find out in the worst possible way,<br>she's probably crying her eyes out in her cell, heartbroken. He may be done with her, but he still cares about her, still cares if she's hurting, still cares.  
>Even if she dislikes him right now, he thinks going to see if she's ok is the decent thing to do, so that's what he does.<p>

He searches high and low for her after he went to her cell and she wasn't there, he's getting worried she's done something stupid, worried that if she _did_ do  
>something stupid, he would never get the chance to tell her all the things he wanted to when Rick was an issue, but now Rick can go fuck himself, he's gonna tell Beth everything, but first he has to find her.<p>

When its obvious to him that he wont find her, he starts to ask everyone that he passes in the halls if they've seen Beth, he's starting to loose his shit when  
>each person he asks says they haven't seen her.<br>When he comes across Carl, he notices him turning the opposite direction to avoid him, little fucker knows something.

"Carl!.. get the fuck back here!" he yells, stopping Carl from going any further.

"Did ya see Beth 'round?.. need to speak to her." Daryl asks, as he walks to catch up with Carl.

Carl gives him a bored look, he can see it in his eyes he knows, but Carl looks like he's not too keen on telling, he shrugs and says nothing.

"Don' give me tha'... I know ya know where she is, 's important.. she could be in danger." he says, trying to keep his cool.

"She's a big girl, she can handle herself." Carl says, still not being cooperative.

"Ya wan' her to get hurt? is tha' it?" Daryl asks, loosing all patience with him. "Beth has tried so fuckin' hard with you, why?... I don' even know, she told  
>me wha' ya called her, told me how upset she was after, so you're gonna tell me where she's at, then when I find her, ya can grow the fuck up and apologise<br>to her for bein' a dick." he's shocked so many words came from his mouth at once, but he was getting desperate, he needed Carl to tell him if he knows.

Carl looks just as shocked and looks to the ground looking ashamed, "I.. I seen her runnin' into the woods, through the gap in the fence." he stammers.

Daryl doesn't stop to scold Carl for not telling anyone sooner, he runs outside with his bow strapped to his back with one thing on his mind, it's getting dark and Beth is out there alone, he _needs _to find her.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

She ran until she was out of breath, she was mindful not to travel too far away from the prison, she just needed to be alone with her  
>thoughts.<br>Beth knew running away wouldn't help anything, she knew it was dangerous leaving the prison, but she's stronger now, she could take care of  
>herself if need be.<br>While she was running, she focused on the blurring trees as they whizzed by, the wind that was whistling in her ears, the birds chirping all around her,  
>but now that she has stopped running it was quiet, she has time to think, to remember.<p>

Her legs buckle from under her, as she falls to the ground on her hands and knees, she feels her ankle give way, a shooting  
>pain runs from her foot all the way up her leg, the shock of what has happened wares off as pain takes its place.<br>She starts to sob uncontrollably, digging her fingers into the ground below her for stability, everything feels likes its crashing down around her  
>and she can do nothing but look on as things fall apart. As <em>she<em> falls apart.  
>She thinks of Rick and how he could betray her like that, she feels as though she's grieving, for Rick, for their relationship that is<br>no more.

She thinks on that... was it no more? Could she possibly forgive something like this? She has Judy to think of... what if Rick didn't want her to be Judith's mother if she _did_ decide they were over? Should she try to make it work for Judith's sake? That thought alone made her sick, trying to play happy  
>families after what she's seen, she doesn't think she could do it no matter how hard she would try, she was sure she would never get the image of Rick with another woman from her mind.<p>

Then there was Daryl.

He looked so hurt when she accused him of something she knew, deep down that he would never do, that he wasn't _that _type of man,  
>he was a good man. Rick had poisoned her mind against Daryl, only now she was seeing that Rick was trying to cover his own cheating ways<br>from her, Daryl probably found him out and the brawl in her cell suddenly made sense to her. She felt even worse after realising that  
>Daryl was trying to protect her from getting hurt, <em>that <em>is why he wouldn't explain Ricks bullshit accusations against him.

She wouldn't be surprised if he never spoke to her again, how could she not believe him? How could she not just look into his  
>eyes and know that he was telling her the truth, that he would never lie to her, he didn't lie to her when he told her he had no romantic feelings<br>towards her, he let her down gently, he was a true friend, of course she'd have to go and screwed it all up.

It was getting dark, she didn't want anyone to come looking for her if she wasn't back soon, she didn't want or need anyone getting hurt on her account  
>She stands up, carful not to aggravate her ankle further, it was going to be a long walk back she thought, brushing herself off and wiping her tears away, getting ready to head back, but before she can even take a step in the direction of home,<br>she's shocked to see at least half a dozen walkers coming her way, too close for comfort, blocking her route, she was trapped.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

He followed her tracks for half an hour or so, but as the sun went down and darkness took over, he couldn't see Beth's prints anymore, he  
>was walking blindly through the trees, hoping he'd get lucky and happen across her... fat fuckin' chance.<p>

If anything happened to Beth, he swore he would go back to the prison and finish Rick off for good, he'd leave after that because he would  
>have nothing left to stick around for, Beth would be gone, that would be the only reason he would need to go and never look back.<br>He was fooling himself in thinking he could ever be done with her, he would _never_ be done with Beth, even if she _were_ dead, he  
>would never find another woman like her, he would never <em>want<em> any other woman but Beth Greene.

Thinking of her dead somewhere in these woods killed him, picturing her half eaten, or bleeding out from having tried to off herself  
>again, or hanging from a tree, all the different ways she could die ran through his head, which only served to make him move faster<br>through the dark, and if running through the dark weren't enough, its just his luck when the damn sky opens up to  
>rain on his search party parade. Fuck.<p>

Merle is yammering in his head now, 'damn fool, save yourself, its too dark to see shit, ya won' find her, even _if _ya could see, prints are gone, washed away by the rain, pussy whipped, riskin' ya life for some dead girl'.

Daryl cant help but shout, "Shut the fuck up!, imma find her, I ain't leavin' withou' her, dead or alive!"

She has to be alive though, she cant die not knowing that he _did _lie to her, he lied when he said he didn't care for her the way she wanted,  
>he only pushed her away thinking she was better off with Rick, thinking <em>he<em> would ruin her goodness if he had kissed her in that house. He knew  
>she would be no better off with him, but he would tell her how he feels anyway, and let her do what she wanted with it.<p>

Fuck it, there's only one way to find Beth and it was so fuckin' stupid, but he had to, the rain was coming down harder, he had to find  
>her now, "Beth!... Beth! Where ya at girl!? he shouts at the top of his lungs, hoping she would hear him over the loud rainfall.<p>

He waited, straining his ears for a whisper, anything.

"Daryl!?" he hears her shout, faintly in the distance.

"Beth!" he calls back relieved, "Keep callin' out so I know where your at!" he instructs, running in the direction of her first call.

"No Daryl!.. don't! there's walkers... too many, ya have to leave, get help!" she yells, sounding scared and tired.

Hell no he wasn't leavin' her out here, freezing, scared, alone, "Naw Beth, I ain't leavin' ya." he says, no longer needing to shout, as he  
>comes to a stop yards away from a group of walkers.<br>He counted eight, standing around a large tree, reaching for a shaking and stranded Beth, she was clinging onto the trunk as she sat sideways on a  
>questionable looking branch, looks more like a twig, she's lucky she weighs nothing at all. <em>He's<em> lucky.

She notices him then, looking scared and a little angry, "Daryl.. what are ya doin'!? are ya crazy.. get outa here now!" Yeah... she was definitely angry.

He ignores her, taking his bow from his back, he only has four bolts, he left his quiver of bolts at the prison in his rush to find her.  
>It'll have to do, he assesses the situation, thinking of the best way to handle this,... take down four from where he stands with his bow, get the attention of the rest, kill them with his knife, ... easy enough.<p>

Beth is still pleading with him to leave her, he just shoots her a look before he's firing his first walker down, then another and another and another,  
>so far so good he thinks.<br>He unsheathes his knife, the four remaining walkers advance on him at once, he moves behind a large tree hoping it would make them scatter around it,  
>his luck is finally in when they do just that, leaving two each side, he picks the first walker to the left and jams his knife into its skull,<br>removing it swiftly to take down the next, but as he's taking his knife back from his sixth kill, he's tackled to the ground by the last two fuckers,  
>falling into a muddy puddle as he hits the ground.<p>

Beth is screaming, struggling to get down from the tree as he holds two walkers at bay, its like a human pile on, with him being crushed beneath  
>two dead weights, they snap their jaws at him, scratching at his arms, he's thankful he wore long sleeves today.<br>The rain falling from above is blurring his vision, his grip on the walker is slipping.

Just as he thinks he's a goner, the weight is suddenly lessened enough for him to hold the walker on top of him with one hand while he plunges  
>his knife into its skull, pushing it from himself, he sees the last walker has already been taken out by a breathless Beth, struggling to stand.<p>

He sits on the wet ground for a few seconds, he's exhausted, he hears Beth's feet trudge through the mud to him, he's panting when she  
>squats down and puts a hand on his shoulder.<p>

"Are ya hurt?.. 'm so sorry, I was about to leave and then the walkers came, I couldn't run on my ankle so I had to climb that tree, I didn't know what  
>else to do Daryl, 'm so..."<p>

Daryl cut her off by grabbing the back of her head, crashing her lips against his in a passionate kiss.  
>The rain is still coming down heavy on them, but neither of them seem to care, lost in each other, Beth climbs into his lap, straddling him.<br>He grips her hips hard, massaging the curve of her hips while she grips the nape of his neck, pulling at the ends of his hair, pulling him harder against her, their kiss is all tongue and teeth, it becomes desperate as she starts to grind down on him, making him shut his eyes tightly, both moaning into each other's mouths.

He pulls from the kiss, remembering where they are, his eyes are still closed tight as he presses his forehead to hers, both of them trying to catch their breaths.

"Scared the shit outta me, thought I lost ya." he tells her breathlessly, still squeezing her hips

Beth gives him a small smile, she holds his face in her hands, making him open his eyes to look at her.

"I'm not goin' anywhere,.. 'm not gonna leave you." she says, staring into his eyes, as if she's willing him to believe her.

He notices that she's shivering, he feels bad for keeping her out here in the freezing rain.

"Com'on, we gotta head back before Maggie and your pa come lookin' for ya themselves." he says, nudging her from his lap to stand.

Beth winces in pain as she stands, gripping Daryl's bicep for support. She notices his questioning look and explains what happened.  
>Daryl slings his bow across his stomach and squats down with his back to her.<p>

"What.. are you serious?" she asks amused, "Ya gonna give me a piggyback all the way to the prison old man?"

Daryl looks over his shoulder, glaring playfully at her choice of words "Yeah...it's a serious piggyback, jump on."

Beth jumps onto his back, curling her arms around his neck as Daryl adjusts her position,  
>he walks with her on his back in silence, she nuzzles her face against his neck breathing warm puffs of air against him all the way back to the prison, both deep in thought of what there kiss meant for them, how things were going to change.<p>

"Not so bad for an 'old man' huh?" he says breathlessly, placing her on the ground as they neared the fence.

She laughs while he's undoing the cables "Yeah.. now all we need is an oxygen tank for ya." she jokes.

It stopped raining when they were halfway home, they were soaked to the bone, both trembling from being so cold.  
>Judging by the moon in the sky, he'd say it was well past midnight, no one should be up, or maybe everyone <em>was<em> still up waiting on them to return?  
>Daryl threw his arm around her waist to support her the rest of the way to the prison.<br>Once inside, Beth froze in her tracks, "I can' sleep in the same bed as _him_." she whispers, looking scared and angry.

"Ya wan' me to drop ya off at Maggie's or your pa's?" he asks, squeezing her side.

She bites her lip, looking up at him suddenly shy, "Uhm.. would it be ok if I stayed with you t'night?.. I jus' don' wanna wake anyone up or cause a fuss."

He doesn't have to think before answering, "'Course its a'right... beds gonna be free, I was supposed to be on watch since midnight."

She looks at him surprised, "Ya can' take watch, you look exhausted!" she says sternly.

"'M fine Beth, we all got jobs to do." he says with a smirk, watching as her stern look turned to disappointment. Did she _want_ him to  
>sleep in the same room as her tonight?<p>

Both of them started towards his cell quietly, he was surprised no one was up, didn't anyone care if she was alright?

He entered his cell placing Beth on the bed gently, crossing the room, he grabs a clean towel for her to dry off with and one of his shirts to  
>change into.<p>

"Sorry it ain't too clean." he says, handing her the shirt and towel.

"Thank you Daryl... for everything." she says with a sad smile.

He gives her a small nod, "Get some sleep.. we can talk in the mornin'." He bends over to press a kiss on her head before turning to leave.

As he walks to the watch tower, he thinks of Beth sleeping in his bed, he smiles to himself when he thinks, he wont be able to let her go after  
>having her scent on his pillow now.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N- So in this chapter, Rick gives his 'excuse' as to why he cheated, I came up with this to add  
>a funny aspect to the story, I didn't want it to be all angst and heartbreak, so I hope you find the fun side to this<br>chapter. Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing :) Hope you enjoy this, another longish chapter. x**

_Chapter 9 -_

Beth wakes up smelling cigarette and motor oil, she remembers where she slept last night and buries her face further into  
>Daryl's pillow, inhaling his oh so manly scent.<br>She was disappointed he couldn't stay to talk about their kiss, it confused her as to why he kissed her, after everything she  
>said to him, how she treated him, how he told her he had no feelings for her, and then he goes and kisses her like <em>that.<em>

She was surprised when he suddenly grabbed her in for a kiss, but in a very good way.  
>It was like nothing she's ever felt before, like he set off a raging inferno inside of her that was always meant to burn, for <em>him, <em>it was like  
>they were both starving for each other, and now that they had a taste, they couldn't get enough.<br>She couldn't think of why he was kissing her at the time, because all she could think of was how amazing it was to be finally kissing Daryl, without feeling the least bit guilty for it of course, considering Rick was fucking another woman, a kiss between her and Daryl is nothing compared to _that_.

But when the kiss started to get very heated, she thought maybe it _would_ compare to fucking seeing as they were practically dry humping each other  
>on the ground.<br>Daryl pulled away first, she thought maybe he regretted kissing her, but then he said that he was scared he might have lost her,  
>him saying those words to her filled her with so much happiness, he cared, he <em>did<em> want her as much as she wanted him.

Right up until Daryl kissed her she was really considering giving Rick a chance to explain, to maybe give him a second chance if she thought  
>it would be the right thing to do, but once Daryl's lips touched hers, she thought there was no way in hell she could kiss any other man but him again,<br>she knew Daryl was _the one, _the moment he kissed her. Daryl made her realise that what she had with Rick was nothing compared to _this,  
><em>_this _was true love.

She reluctantly gets out of bed and stretches her soar limbs, her ankle still feels iffy when she walks to get her dry clothes from the table.  
>Wearing nothing but Daryl's shirt last night was such a turn on for her, being enveloped in his musky smell, laying in his comfortable bed, she couldn't stop her hand from reaching down under the sheets to rub some of the ache between her legs away. It was the first time touching herself while thinking of Daryl, as she brought herself to climax, she nearly screamed out it was so intense, she wondered, if just thinking about him brought on such a reaction, how would<br>she cope with the real thing?

As she was unbuttoning the shirt, she heard someone stop at the cell door, she turned around fixing the shirt back in place to find Carol gawking  
>at her. Oh no... this looks so bad.<p>

"Carol.. hi.. I uhm.." Beth stuttered, not given the chance to finish, as Carol bolts from the room.

She was overcome with guilt, even though Carol and Daryl were done, she didn't want Carol to think she was swooping in so soon  
>after the breakup. She didn't want her to think she was cheating on Rick, people had to know by now what happened in the boiler room,<br>sometimes the prison is worse than high school when it comes to privacy and rumours, they had to know her and Rick were over?

She wasn't looking forward to the sympathetic looks she knew she was going to get today, she just wanted to forget and move on.  
>Getting dressed in a hurry, Beth sets out to find Carol and explain why she was in Daryl's cell wearing nothing but his shirt, she really hopes Carol<br>believes her.  
>Beth enters the cafeteria expecting Maggie or her dad to ask her how she was or hug her till she couldn't breath, but what she got was smiling<br>faces, greeting her with good mornings and small talk. They didn't know, and she didn't know how to say 'oh hey, me and Rick broke up cause he's fuckin'  
>someone that isn't me.'<p>

"Feelin' better today Bethy?" Maggie asks, sitting next to Glenn eating their breakfast of oatmeal.. again.

Beth knits her brows together confused, maybe they _did _know and was just bringing it up now, but just to be sure, she has to ask.

"Feelin' better bout wha'?" she asks, looking down at her own breakfast.

"Rick said you went to bed early cause ya were feelin' sick... do I suspect a niece or nephew soon?" Maggie asks excitedly.

"Rick told y'all I was sick?" she says, trying to stay calm, so that's why no one was waiting up for her and Daryl when they returned,  
>they all thought she was sick in bed and just didn't care enough to wonder about Daryl or thought he was out hunting, she felt better<br>knowing they _did_ care after all.

"Yeah." Glenn answers, "How _is_ Rick today?.. I cant believe Daryl would freak like that, Ricks face is messed up."

Her head instantly shot up at that, "Daryl hit Rick?.. did Rick say why?" she asks, feeling put out that Daryl never mentioned this to her last night.

"Have you not seen Rick's face? Daryl didn't jus' hit him, he beat the crap outta him, Rick said Daryl jus' snapped, didn't say much else after that."  
>Glenn says, through a mouthful of oatmeal, while Maggie looks at her confused.<p>

"How do ya not know any of this Beth? I know you've been sick, but ya _had _to have seen Rick's face last night, I mean.. y'all share a cell." Maggie says,  
>looking suspiciously at her.<p>

She doesn't get a chance to answer when Rick comes storming into the room with Carol on his heels. Great.

"Wha' the fuck Beth! You're jus' gonna jump into bed with Daryl when things get difficult between us?" Rick bellows, stopping right at their table.

Is he being serious right now? Is he actually gonna call _her_ out on this in front of everyone? And Jesus Christ.. his face is messed up! ..Good.

"I really love wha' you've done with your face Rick... really brings ou' the colour in your eyes." she says bitterly, standing up because she will _not _be  
>looked down on.<p>

Everyone is looking at her like _she's_ the bad guy, "Bethy.. is this true?" Hershel asks, making her cringe, because how could he even ask that?

Carol is still standing behind Rick looking ashamed, when Daryl comes strolling in, all swagger, looking tired but still managing to look sexy.

She was just about to answer her daddy's question when Rick starts mouthin' off.

"Ya got a nerve comin' in here after sleepin' with _my_ girl last night, ya no good piece o' shit." Rick says, furiously at Daryl.

Daryl cocks his head to the side with a smirk, "Ya really wanna go _there _Rick? The only no good piece o' shit round here is you."

"We all know _Rick_ is a good man, he never slept with a woman that wasn't his to have." Hershel says, looking disgustedly at Daryl.

_That, _was enough for Beth to step in, seeing how hurt Daryl looked because of her daddy's words, she was angry and frustrated that everyone in the room was treating Daryl so badly, so she speaks up.

"How dare y'all treat Daryl like _he's _the bad guy, he's been nothin' but good to everyone in this damned prison, Rick is the one y'all  
>should look at like <em>that." <em>she says, directing her last words at her daddy who was still glaring at Daryl.

"I never slept with Daryl, and even if I did, it would be fine, seeing as Rick thinks it's totally ok to fuck Julie up against a wall  
>in the boiler room! Right Rick?!" she finishes, each word growing louder to make sure everyone could hear.<p>

Everyone's attention was now on Rick, shocked gasps and hushed whispers filled the room.

"Ya cheated on my sister?" Maggie asks, getting up from her seat to most likely mess up his face more, until Glenn pulled her back,  
>making her sit back down.<p>

"This is between me and Beth." Rick says, suddenly self conscious. "Beth will ya jus' let me explain, in private?"

She knew he would want to talk about it, she wasn't going to change her mind about it being over, but she still needed to hear what he  
>had to say, why he threw everything they had away so easily?<p>

"A'right... I'll listen to what ya have to say." she answers, over her daddy and Maggie's objections.

As she was walking with Rick to their once shared cell, she looked over her shoulder at Daryl, he looked to the ground looking disappointed, she  
>hoped he understood that she needed to have this talk with Rick before she had any kind of talk with him about their kiss and what it meant.<br>She watched as he followed Carol out of the prison before she entered Ricks cell, sitting on the bunk, she watches Rick drags a stool  
>from the corner, sitting right in front of her.<p>

"Now, before we start.. I need ya to have an open mind about what I have to tell ya, its hard for me to admit it to myself, let alone to you."

She stared at him annoyed, she just wants him to get to the damn point.

"Ya have five minutes Rick, I jus' wanna know why?" she asks, quietly.

He took a deep shuddering breath in, wringing his hands together, "'M a sex addict." he whispers, looking down at the ground suddenly.

She almost laughed, because she could have sworn she heard him say he was a sex addict. Just to be sure...

"Your a what now?" she asks, trying to keep her laughter in. "Ya should stand up and introduce yourself... ya know... I'm Rick Grimes, I'm thirty seven, and I'm a sex addict." she says, trying to impersonate Ricks voice.

"It ain't funny Beth, its a serious disease, I can' control it... she practically jumped on my dick and I jus' couldn't say no." Rick explains, getting  
>annoyed that she wasn't taking him seriously.<p>

"Let me get this straight... ya fucked another woman, ya cheated on me because your a fuckin' nympho!?" she says, half angry, half amused.

"We made love everyday Rick, twice a day... and ya still weren't satisfied?... if ya wanted more, I would have had no problem with  
>ya fuckin' my brains out all day if that's wha' ya needed." she chastised, standing up to leave, she had enough of his bullshit excuse.<p>

Then she suddenly stopped, a terrible thought coming to mind, "Was tha' the first time ya fucked someone behind my back?"

Rick looked taken aback by her question, he looked even more ashamed than he already was.

"'M gonna be one hundred percent honest with ya Beth, and when you've heard me out completely, we'll have nothing to hide, we can start fresh  
>and I swear to ya... I will never hurt ya like tha' again." he said, with pleading eyes that almost had her fooled.<p>

There was no way she was going to start fresh with him, but she was curious to know all his dirty secrets, so she nodded her head  
>for him to continue.<p>

"'M not sure how many women I was with, I lost count... all these damn Woodbury women throw themselves at me all the time, its hard  
>to turn them down. I only lied to ya bout Daryl because he told me to end things with ya when he found ou' bout me kissin' Michonne, I was scared of loosin' ya and 'm ashamed of myself for how I treated ya, and Daryl." Rick finishes with tears in his eyes and gets down on one knee in front of her.<p>

"Now tha' ya know everything, 'm gonn be better for ya, 'm never gonna hurt ya again, can ya forgive me baby and do me the honour  
>of bein' my wife?" he says, pulling out a ring from his back pocket.<p>

Her heart clenches painfully, it's so hard seeing him so broken, on his knees in front of her, tears stream down both their faces, she feels her heart breaking  
>all over again. She's wanted to marry Rick for a while now, but she can't ever trust him again, marriages are built on trust and love, and she had neither<br>for him anymore.

She shakes her head, backing away from him, "I can' Rick, its over... I forgive ya... but.. we are never gettin' back together."

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He sat with Carol on top of a bench in the yard, they were both silent for a while, he was happy to just sit in her company, away from the drama  
>that was going on in the prison right now.<p>

"So you and Beth?" Carol says, breaking the silence.

"It ain't wha' ya think, nothin' happened till last night, I would never cheat on ya Carol." he says, trying to defend himself.

"I know you wouldn't,... I thought maybe Beth cheated on Rick though, that's why I had to tell him I seen her in your cell, I'd wanna  
>know if that was me." she says, looking at him with apologetic eyes.<p>

"'S fine, ya did the right thing, ya weren't to know about Rick." he says, with a reassuring smile.

"So you and Beth." Carol says again with a shit eatin' grin on her face.

"Shuddup." he grumbles, smiling as Carol bumps shoulders with him.

"I'm happy you're happy, it's nice to see ya so in love." she says, with no malice.

He's suddenly uncomfortable talking about this with Carol, when he hasn't even talked to Beth first. Standing up, he kisses the top of her head saying his goodbyes as he makes his way back into the prison.

Back to the prison that judged him so easily, until Beth stood up for him when Hershel of all people basically said he wasn't any good, _that_ cut him up, he respected that man since the day they met, he wanted to be accepted by him especially, all the more now that he wanted to be with his daughter.  
>When she stood up to everyone for him, he felt his heart swell with love and gratitude, then she said she would hear Rick out and went to their cell together, he was filled with jealousy seeing her walk away from him to go with Rick, what if she gives him a second chance? He couldn't bear to even think about that.<p>

He thinks of telling Beth he loves her, that it's been her he sees spending whatever time he has left on this hellish earth with, he thinks of kissing her again, because.. god, their first kiss was everything he imagined it would be, her perfect cherry lips tasting sinfully sweet.

He wouldn't normally be so forward and grab her the way he did, but after thinking the worst, thinking she was dead and that he would never be able to tell her how he feels, well.. everything went out the window for him then. Who cares if he was putting it all out there for her to see, who cares if he  
>looked desperate, who cares if she knows that he is in love with her.<p>

When he kissed her first, he was scared he was overstepping, that she would pull back and slap him for being so crazy, cause how could he think of kissing an amazing girl like her? He just wasn't worthy, he _was_ crazy, about her, so he wasn't thinking when he grabbed her, and when she kissed him back he felt  
>as if he could finally breath, she wanted his kisses, she wanted to be sitting in his lap, she wanted his grubby hands on her, she wanted <em>her<em> hands on him, she wanted him.

He never wanted their kiss to stop, but when she started to grind down on his obvious hardness, he was brought back down to earth, she was freezing,  
>hurt, he needed to get her back home, safe.<p>

He enters his cell not expecting to see Beth sitting on his bunk.

"I think we need to have that talk now." she says, smiling sweetly at him.. that damn smile melted him in a mushy puddle at her feet.

He walks over to sit next to her, making sure to keep some distance, because if this was a talk to tell him she's staying with Rick, he couldn't  
>handle her touch knowing she would never be his <em>to<em> touch and taste again.

"Rick asked me to marry him." she blurts out, and now he's holding his breath. "Can ya believe that? He actually thought I'd say yes after everything."

He can breath again, "Ya said no." he confirms to himself, picking his thumbnail nervously.

"I can' very well marry him when I can' seem to stop thinkin' bou' you." she says, boldly. "Why'd ya kiss me Daryl?"

His confidence in telling her everything he was feeling now that she was in front of him was dissipating. She reached over and took his hand in hers,  
>threading their fingers together, she squeezed his hand reassuringly, he could be brave, for her.<p>

"Kissed ya cause.. I always wanted to.. I lied bout not wantin' ya in _that _way, jus' thought ya were better off with Rick, don' deserve ya, thought I'd ruin ya...  
>your goodness, you're too good for someone like me." he finishes, peeking up at her through the long hair falling in his eyes.<p>

She turns slightly to face him, she had a look of determination on her face as she brought her hand up to move his bangs from his eyes.

"Daryl Dixon, there is no better man left on this godforsaken earth than you, 'm the one tha' doesn't deserve you, is it any wonder I love you so much? You can only ruin me if you say ya don' wanna be with me jus' as much as I wanna be with you.

He blanked out everything she said after she told him she loved him without realising she said it, at least it looks like she hasn't realised, her face is giving  
>nothing away.<p>

"Ya love me?" he asks, he needs to know he wasn't hearing wrong.

She seemed to realise her declaration of love, she looked shocked and nervous, she looked cute as hell all flustered.

"I.. did I...ya don' have to say..." she gasps suddenly as he grabs her face, kissing her slow and sensual, a complete turnaround from their first kiss.

He never deepens the kiss, he enjoys every slow roll of her tongue in his mouth, every small nibble, content on the softness, never needing the rough he is so used to. Beth makes him want to savour everything with her, he's never kissed anyone like this, this kiss full of love.

When he pulls back just the slightest bit, he looks into Beth's lust filled eyes, he has never been surer of anything in his life.

"I love ya Beth." he whispers against her smiling lips, tracing his thumb over her cheek.

He doesn't give her time to respond as he's claiming her mouth again, much like their first kiss, there's fighting tongues and clashing teeth, something is  
>telling him that she loves <em>this<em> more than slow and sensual, Beth the hellcat, _his _hellcat.  
>He stops a second time, remembering something she said to the whole prison group earlier,<p>

"So... ya said somethin' bout bein' fine with me fuckin' ya?" he teases, licking at her neck as his hands tangled in her hair.

She moans at his open mouthed kisses on her neck, "I seem to remember saying it a little less crude, but yeah... fuckin' is more then fine with me."

**So.. who sang Taylor Swift's 'We Are Never Getting Back Together' when Beth said those same words to Rick? haha :)  
>Fun fact I only learned today... Nympho is a female who is addicted to sex... Satyriasis is a male who is addicted to sex.<br>I thought 'Nympho' referred to both male and female.. apparently not. Anyway.. I used nympho for Beth to describe Rick  
>because it fit better than Satyriasis... just in case anyone wants to point out that I used the wrong word ;)<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N- Thank you readers and reviewers :) I'm sorry this chapter is a little late, I would have had it up last night but my daughter was sick and had me up all night. On another note.. I am speechless that this story is nearly at 100 reviews! That's has to be like a milestone or something, so crazy! :) ha. Now that there is nothing in the way of Bethyl...**

_Chapter 10 -_

He wakes up to an unfamiliar warmth pressed to his front, the scent of vanilla was intoxicating, knowing who the smell belonged to makes  
>him immediately hard. He cracks an eye open to see Beth, curled up on her side with her ass pressed tight against his morning wood.<p>

After they finished kissing each others faces raw last night, they both decided to keep their new relationship quiet, no one needed to know their business,  
>and even though Rick shouldn't be shown a shred of decency, Beth still didn't want him to know so soon after their breakup, she didn't<br>want to hurt him or make him think their relationship meant nothing to her, damn girl and her good heart.

They stayed up late, talking until they both felt tired, she said she would stay in an empty cell, that she didn't wanna make him uncomfortable, when  
>she was about to leave he called her back and asked her to stay with him, not just for the night, he asked her to move into his cell, it wasn't too much of a big deal, considering they already declared their love for one another. So she stayed with him, telling him she would get her stuff tomorrow. He<br>slept beside her fully dressed, thankfully she slept in her tank top and jeans, Beth in his bed half naked would have kept him up all night, thinking about all the dirty things he wanted to do to her.

He told her he wouldn't be uncomfortable with her staying, but now that she was wriggling her ass against him, she was making him _very_ uncomfortable.  
>When he joked about fuckin' her, he was shocked when she said she was jus' fine with him fuckin' her, not joking at all. Knowing that she wanted<br>him like that nearly killed him, he had to slow down their kiss, he didn't want to move too fast with Beth, he needed to  
>make their first time perfect, not some ten second ground and pound.<p>

He cant help his hands from exploring her while she was asleep, propping himself up on one elbow, he begins running his hand up the smooth skin of her arm  
>all the way up to her soft shoulder, he moves her silky blonde hair back, exposing her delicate neck he wants to lick and kiss, so he does.<br>He dips his head, pressing his lips to the place between her shoulder and neck, she stirs, mewing softly in her sleep. Working his way up the column of her neck, he finds the spot just behind her ear, she pushes her ass further back, earning a low growl in her ear. He knows she's awake now, but cant stop  
>his assault on her sweet tasting flesh.<p>

"Daryl." Beth mews, grinding her ass unashamedly into his now aching dick. She's horny as fuck.

Hearing his name coming from her mouth like that was his undoing, he grabs her hip and pulls her back, grinding into her ass hard making her moan  
>his name louder. All he wants to do is flip her on her back and pound out his need for her, but he knows its way too soon, she doesn't need him<br>humpin' her back like a horny teenager, she only broke up with Rick less then a day for fuck sake.

He stills his hips and gives her one last kiss to her neck before quickly getting out of bed, far away from the temptress that is Beth Greene.

Beth sits up flushed, "'M sorry, did I go too fast?" she says shyly, watching him sit at the end of the bunk as he laces his boots up.

"'S not you Beth, was me tha' was goin' too fast, can' keep my damn hands to myself." he mumbles, standing up to grab his bow.

"Don' wan' ya to keep your damn hands to yourself." she says, smiling as he groans out frustrated.

"We got time Beth, if 'm gonna do this... 'm gonna do it righ'." he says, squatting down to her level, giving her a small smile. "I gotta check the fences, don'  
>think ya gotta leave cause 'm gone, this is your place now too."<p>

"I know... roomie." she teases, pulling him in for a goodbye kiss.

He has to pry her hands from his neck when she starts to pull him back down on the bed, giving her a playfully scolding look, he backs away from her.

"Don' forget we have training after dinner, don' be late Greene." he says, leaving her groaning into his pillow.

He's been walking up and down the fences awhile now thinking of Beth, he thinks of ways to make their first time special, memorable.  
>It unnerves him to know that she has experience with older men, or just Rick... but still, living up to her expectations was going to be difficult, making love was new to him, all he knows is fuckin', he couldn't even wake up next to her without thinking of ploughing into her hard and deep.<p>

As he was walking back to the prison, he contemplates if he _could_ be slow and soft with her when Rick steps in front of him, blocking his path to the door of the prison.

"Ya lookin' to add more bruises to that face?" Daryl asks, eyeing Rick up suspiciously.

"Came to apologise." Rick says, putting his hands on his hips to show he wasn't going anywhere.

"Ain't me ya should be apologisin' to, 's Beth." he says, annoyed.

"I said 'm sorry to Beth, she forgave me, but 'm gonna keep tellin' her 'm sorry and I told her I'd apologise to you too." Ricks says, sincerely.

Daryl waits for him to get it over with, say whatever bullshit he wants to spout and leave him be.

"Look, ya got tangled up in all this and I jus' panicked, when ya told me to break up with Beth... I lost it. Thought I was gonna loose her... I couldn't  
>loose her Daryl, not after Lori." Rick says, getting choked up, making him uncomfortable for the second time today, for very different reasons.<p>

"I told her some stuff bout ya that wasn' true, it was the first thing tha' came to mind when she put me on the spot, askin' why ya had  
>me against the wall, I was angry, thinkin' ya were messin' up my relationship with Beth... 's easier to blame others then admit the worst bout myself."<br>Rick finishes, looking at him with apologetic eyes.

Daryl huffs out a long sigh, "Ya fucked up, ya apologised, 's gonna take time to get back to normal." he says, moving past Rick to enter the prison.

He knows he was short with Rick, but he cant expect to build bridges in a day, if he was being honest with himself, he still wanted nothing more than to  
>kick the shit outta him again, but for Beths sake, he would be civil.<p>

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She was on her own, outside doing laundry in the sweltering heat. She _was _inside with the rest of the women doing laundry, but when she overheard  
>some of them gossip about what supposedly happened between her and their leader, she wouldn't sit there and listen to their ill conceived notions.<p>

Their words kept rolling around in her head, niggling and annoying, "_Did ya hear they were both cheatin' on each other?", "I heard he caught the clap from bein' with so many women.", "I'm glad I turned him down, who knows what other std's he has.", "Well I heard that she was beatin' him so that's why he was cheatin', did ya see his face?" "Poor man.", "Poor girl." _

She stomped over to their circle, they were all too busy washing and gossiping to notice she was standing right in front of them,  
>"I suggest you ladies keep your mouths shut if ya know what's good for ya, have y'all heard I beat on men? So your scrawny asses ain't nuthn to me."<br>All their shocked faces turned scared, she had enough of gossiping bitches for a lifetime, so she gave each of them one final death stare before grabbing  
>up her basket to head outside.<p>

"This seat taken?" Carols voice asks, breaking her from her thoughts.

She looks up, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, Carol stands awkwardly, waiting for her permission. Beth shakes her head and mentions to the spot beside her on the grass, she needed to talk with Carol anyway to know if she wasn't too put out by her and Daryl, he told Beth she was happy for them, but out of respect, she wanted to ask herself.

"'M sorry ya had to find out bout me and Daryl the way ya did, nothin' happened between us before that." she admits, looking between her wet clothes  
>and Carol.<p>

"You have nothin' to apologise for, even if something _did_ happen... it would have been fine, me and Daryl parted on good terms." Carol explains, giving  
>her a bright smile. "I actually came to apologise to <em>you, ...<em>I shouldn't have run off like that to tell Rick bout you bein' in Daryl's cell without knowing  
>the full story, I jumped the gun and I'm sorry Beth."<p>

"Ya were doin' what was right Carol, Rick is your friend too and ya thought I was cheatin' on him, any good friend would have done the same thing."

Carol nods, "So no hard feelings?" she asks, reaching over to playfully pull at the end of her ponytail.

"Non at all." she laughs, leaning over to place a light kiss to Carol's cheek.

Carol smiles lovingly at her, "He's really lucky to have you...'m happy for both of you ya know, love is hard to come by these days, but when it does come...  
>ya gotta grab it with both hand and never let go."<p>

"I plan to." Beth whispers, giving Carol a small smile, which was immediately wiped from her face when she looks over Carol's head to see Rick and Julie.

Motherfu.. their really gonna rub it in her face like that? Julie is rubbing up and down Ricks arm, but he seems to look annoyed, bating her hand away to  
>move around her. Julie is persistent though and swats at his ass as he passes, Rick keeps walking towards the prison and Beth cant seem to stop her feet from moving in the direction of Julie the whore.<p>

She stops behind Julie who is still staring after Rick, she doesn't notice Beth when she walks backwards into her, making Beth shove her forward away from her, Julie whips round shocked at being shoved, her shock turns to fear when she sees who is behind her, she doesn't get a chance to even try and open her mouth when Beth is planting her fist hard against Julie's face, knocking her backwards onto the ground with a cry. Julie sits on her ass holding her bloody nose, tears streaming down her face as she whimpers in pain.

"That's for bein' a whore and fuckin' my man!" Beth shouts down at her, shaking her fist, her hand in pain from the blow.

Carol stands behind Beth with a calming hand on her shoulder, "Come on Beth, she's not worth it." she says, soothingly.

Beth turns away from Julie, stomping angrily back to her laundry, "That was badass." Carl's small voice says.

Carol must have noticed how awkward the moment was and decided to leave without a word.

Beth sits on the ground staring up at a very nervous teenage boy, "What do ya wan' Carl?" she snaps, regretting it immediately.

He doesn't seem to be bothered by her anger and sits beside her, "Wanted to come and say sorry for bein' a dick to ya, ya never deserved it, I was jus' mad bout my mom and wanted to take it ou' on someone." he says, picking at the blades of grass around him, not meeting her eye.

"Ya tellin' me all this now cause 'm not your stepmom anymore?" she jokes, trying to get him to relax.

"No... jus' somethin' Daryl said, _and_ I thought it was bout time I gave ya a break, with everything with my dad... 'm sorry by the way." he says, finally looking up at her with apologetic eyes.

"Ya don' gotta be sorry for him Carl, but thank you, it's nice being able to talk with you again, I missed my friend." she smiles.

He smiles back at her, "I was always your friend... jus' a stubborn one. he laughs, finally getting comfortable with her again.

"Its nice to know some thing never change." she says, referring to their easy banter with one another.

His face turns suddenly serious, "Speakin' of...ya know you're always gonna be Judy's mom right? No matter what happens between you and my dad,  
>I know he's a dick right now, but he's not dick enough to stop ya from bein' with her."<p>

She is suddenly overcome with emotion, tears well up in her eyes as she pounces on him, she wraps her arms round his neck and squeezes,  
>"Tha' means so much.. you sayin' tha', thank you." she sniffles, drawing back to smile at his blushing face.<p>

"Buds?" he says, putting his fist up for her to bump.

"Buds." she confirms, taping her fist with his.

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Where the fuck is this girl!? He told her not to be late, its not like she has a fuckin' hair appointment, or has to get her nails done... why is she fuckin' late?  
>The sun is going down, its gonna get too dark to train if she doesn't hurry up.<p>

He feels a sudden weight on his back, as Beth's slender legs and arms wrap around him from behind, "Boo!" she laughs, smiling from ear to ear.

"Damn girl, ya gave me a heart attack." he grumps, as he grabs her arm to flip her over his back onto the ground.

He supports her fall but she still lands with an 'Umph', smiling up at him from the ground, "Did I jus' sneak up on the great Daryl Dixon?" she smirks,  
>cocking her eyebrow at him.<p>

"Naw.. knew ya were there, was jus' playin' with ya." he smirks, helping her up from the ground.

"So.. what's the lesson today ?" she asks, sweetly.

"Well .. I thought we could pick up where we left off from our last session." he says, reminding her of their disaster of a last session, making her frown.

"'S alrigh' Beth, that's water under the bridge, don' go upsettin' yourself." he says knowingly, smiling at her to lift her spirit.

She smiles back and suddenly bolts away from him, "You are so gullible!" she laughs, shouting over her shoulder.

"Aw.. you better hope I don' catch ya Greene! he shouts back, running at full speed to catch up to a very fast blonde.

He sees her running to the secluded part of the prison like last time, when he comes up to the corner Beth outsmarts him and is waiting for his back to be turned as he rounds the corner, she pounces on his back once again, giggling out of breath, she kisses him on his neck and huffs out,

"Looks like _I'm _the cat and you're the mouse."

Yeah.. hellcat more like, with her still clinging to his back, he takes a couple steps back with her, pinning her to the wall. He quickly spins round to face her, taking her wrists to pin them to the wall above as he keeps her pinned with his hips, her legs wrapped around him, pelvis to pelvis.

"Pretty soon ya won' need me at all huh?" he asks, panting heavily.

"'M always gonna need you Daryl." she moans, as he grinds his hips against her making her whimper, she tries to bring her face forward to kiss him.

He gladly complies, bringing his head forward to press his lips hard against hers, still holding her hands above her head. _He's_ the damn cat in this thing.

Their kiss is needy and sloppy, "Need ya Beth." he says between kisses.

"Please Daryl.. I don' wanna wait.. I can' wait," she says breathlessly, trying to grind down harder on him.

He stops suddenly, staring into her begging eyes, "Wanna make it special." he mumbles, dropping her wrists, to glide his hands down her sides.

"It _will _be special,.. jus' bein' with you will be special Dary,... please?" she asks, sticking her bottom lip out, pouting sadly at him.

He moves forward to suck on her bottom pouty lip, "Can' say no to tha' pout." he whispers against her lips, as he slids her back down, onto her feet.

"Com'on then." he says, taking her hand to lead her back to the prison, but is taken aback when Beth stops and blurts out "No."

He looks at her confused, didn't she want this two seconds ago? She quickly rephrases though, " I mean.. I need a shower first, 'm stinkin'" she  
>says reassuringly.<p>

"I don' smell like roses neither." he says, cocking his head at her silliness.

"Tell ya what... you go back to our cell and light some candles, get things ready while I have a quick wash down, and I'll meet ya there in thirty minutes tops."

He grunts his approval, she's practically jumping up and down with excitement, leaning up to kiss him one last time before darting off alone to the showers. At least he has time to make the cell look decent for her, he can give her that much. He walks back with a stupid grin on his face, excited at the prospect of finally being with Beth Greene.

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She's washing herself as fast as she can, her smile hasn't left her face since leaving him, she was finally going to know what it feels like to be with Daryl Dixon.

As she dries off and quickly dresses herself, she hears pitter patter of feet entering the shower room.

"'M jus' leavin'." she calls over her shoulder at whoever came in.

She picks up her dirty clothes and begins to turn, when she feels a sharp pain on the back of her head, everything goes black.

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He's been waiting well over a half hour, the candles were burning down, there's no way she can be taking this long to shower, he's getting frustrated waiting for her, he has no fingernails left to bite, so he blows out the dying candles and exits his cell, heading to the showers.

When he gets there its too quiet, eerie even. He doesn't bother knocking when he enters the shower room, he doesn't find Beth, but what he _does_ find fills him with dread, a small amount of blood is on the floor next to her dirty clothes.  
>He starts to panick, what the fuck happened? He looks to the ground again to find drops of blood leading from the room, he goes into hunter mode<br>and follows the trail.

He gets scared when he follows the blood out of the prison to the cabled fence, there's one set of prints, but they were obviously dragging a limp Beth behind them. He had some sense this time to grab a torch on his way out, its pitch black out now. The cables were untied and the blood led to the woods, as he stepped through the fence, he tied the cables back and started his trek through the woods.

His heart was beating so fast, he couldn't think of anything but Beth being out here somewhere hurt, the blood was becoming lesser, so that was a good sign at least, she wouldn't die from blood lose. Suddenly he sees a figure on the ground curled up in a ball, Beth. Her blonde hair was matted red, she  
>wasn't moving, still unconscious. Someone was gonna fuckin' die for doing this to her.<br>He lets out a long shaky breath he's been holding since finding the blood on the floor of the shower room, he needs to help her.

As he takes a step towards her, his vision is blurred as he is suddenly hit across the head with something heavy. He stumbles, falling backwards on his back looking up, he sees stars but knows their not the real kind. He is just about to fade when Bimbo leans over him smiling,

"Now that we're all here, we can finally get started."

**Don't hate me! :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**Woo! 100 reviews, I feel like I should have a party to celebrate, but instead.. I'll just settle for giving  
>you guys another chapter. Thank you so much readers and reviewers! :)) x <strong>

_Chapter 11-_

_"Daryl! Please wake up, Daryl!" _

Hurt, he comes to and the first thing he notices is how much pain he's in. His neck is aching from being slumped over onto his shoulder,  
>his head is pounding from being hit he presumes, he cant quiet remember, and his wrists sting from being tied too tightly, his wrists must be bleeding but he cant tell, their tied behind the tree he is bound to, his ass is numb from sitting on the cold ground, everything hurts.<p>

"Daryl?! Oh thank god, I thought you were never gonna wake up." Beths voice rings out, but he cant see her, his vision is still blurry, and  
>the darkness of the woods doesn't help the problem. He shakes his head hoping it will clear his vision, blinking a couple times, he sees Beth in front of him<br>a few yard away tied to a tree.

"Shit... wha' happened?" Daryl asks groggily, trying to remember how they got there.

"Looks like Julie isn't jus' a whore, she's a crazy, psychopathic whore." Beth answers, wincing in pain.

"Ya a'right?" he asks, noticing her look of pain, he sits up straighter, trying to get a better look at the back of her blood stained head.

"Ya trying to see from all the way over there?" she muses, trying to lighten the mood. "'M fine Daryl, jus' a little sensitive."

"Where's Bimbo?" he asks, still pulling at the ropes, twisting and turning, bitch knows how to tie knots.

"Bimbo?" Beth quips, chuckling softly, pulling at her own constrictions. "I dunno, she wasn't here when I woke up, must have left us here for the walkers."  
>she says, face turning angry.<p>

"'M gonna kill tha' bitch, she's lucky she ain't here." he says, huffing and puffing from his attempt to escape.

"Guess my luck has run out then." Julie quips, as she walks into view between him and Beth.

"I see y'all haven't been eaten yet, I was half hoping y'all were dead... save _me_ the bother of getting my hands bloody."

"Ya think people ain't gonna know it was you if we jus' disappear!?" Beth hisses, glaring at Bimbo.

Julie chuckles sweetly, "Ya don' know me very well honey, 'm smarter than I look, where do ya think I was all this?" she asks, slowly walking  
>towards Daryl.<p>

"Oh I don' know... maybe off screwing another woman's man?" Beth sneers, not seeming to affect Bimbo in the slightest.

Julie laughs aloud, squatting beside Daryl, "You need to get over the fact that Rick never wanted ya, bitterness don' suit ya.. makes your face  
>look constipated darlin'." she says dryly. "Like I was sayin'.. 'm smarter than I look, while y'all were sleeping cozy, I went back to the prison to write a little letter explaining how y'all were so in love and couldn't be together with people judgin', so you two love birds ran away together to live happy ever after."<br>she explains happily, only looking at Daryl.

"See somethin' ya like... sorry to tell ya, but I don' do fake Barbie lookin' bitches, and ain't no one gonna believe tha' bullshit letter." he says, staring at Julies smiling face.

Ignoring his comment, Julie starts to run her hand up his thigh, stopping near his crotch.

"She does have good taste in men, pity I'm already taken.. I would have fucked ya right in front of your little girlfriend, bet she'd _love _that."  
>Julie says, grabbing his bulge hard, making him hiss.<p>

Looking back to Beth, Julie smirks devilishly, "Oh honey, I see why ya like this one... mmmhmm." she hums, giving him one last squeeze before letting go.

He wants to rip this crazy bitches head off, he can see Beth getting angry, she's struggling harder against her ties.

"You're a dirty fuckin' bitch, 'm gonna kill ya for this." he growls, trying to kick her away to no avail.

"Not before I kill ya first sweetcheeks." Julie says, pulling Daryl's large hunting knife from her boot.

"No! Julie don'.. please, 'm sorry I hit ya.. I was jus' angry is all, but we can forget bout that, we can forget bout all this and go back home.. together."  
>Beth pleads, now suddenly scared.<p>

Julie turns to Beth, her usual chirpiness has turned to angry, "Ya think this is about you hitting me!? Ya think I'm doin' this cause ya bust my nose!? I'm not _that _petty Beth." she sneers, picking her nails angrily with the knife, pacing in circles fuming.

"Why the fuck are we here then?" Daryl says, trying to steer Julies anger towards him and away from Beth.

Julie suddenly stops, looking into the woods blankly, "I was never this pretty ya know, the girls in school were so mean to me, always pickin' on me for bein' ugly, for not havin' nice things like they had, I never got the guy, I never get anything I want... and I'm sick of it." she hisses, staring blankly.

She turns on Beth, "_You _remind me of those mean girls, you.. with your perfect family, daddy, sister, baby, friends, and the perfect man to top it all off."

Beth is seething, "For a girl who never gets what she wants, ya really sound like a spoiled bitch, sometimes things don' go the way ya wan'.. that's life..  
>get over it."<p>

Julie stares at her, ignoring her words completely.

"Girls like you get everything they want, while girls like _me... _we get the scraps.. the bottom of the barrel,.. but this time, _I _get something good, _I  
><em>get the man, Rick should be here soon and when he does... we can kill you two and finally get _our _happy ever after, y'all are jus' a distraction,  
>me and Rick don' need anything else to stand in the way of our love."<p>

This bitch is crazier than he thought if she thinks Rick is gonna kill them to be with her. He would never... would he?

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear." Julie says, suddenly oozing with happiness. Bipolar nutcase.

Rick slowly comes into view, walking cautiously, he stops when he sees Beth and Daryl, his expressionless face worries him.

"Rick.. baby, I know ya said we ain't gonna be together, and I know that's because of Beth even though ya said it wasn't, so we got to do this baby,  
>when she's out of our lives we can have everythin' together, we can be great together, and I know that's what ya want, I know ya better than anybody."<br>Julie says, moving towards Daryl with the knife.

Rick stood staring at Julie, he looked to be contemplating something, and was about to speak before Julie interrupted him.

"She's fuckin' him Rick, probably been cheatin' on ya when you were with me, I know ya don' wanna see them walk around the prison all  
>lovey dovey, rubbin' it in your face." Julie say, squatting down in front of Daryl, running the blade up his leg.<p>

Rick's face suddenly changes from stoic to angry, "This true? You and Daryl a thing now? Is that why ya wouldn't give me another chance?" he says,  
>directing his questions at Beth.<p>

Beth looked scared, she was about to answer when Daryl called out, "Naw Rick.. Beth never cheated on ya, but we are together now, Bimbo here is a  
>crazy lyin' bit..." He was cut off by Julie ramming the blade into his shoulder beside his chest, she twists it slowly before yanking it back out.<p>

He was momentarily stunned, Beth's screams, Julie's laughter, Ricks gasp of shock, all running through his mind before he lets out a stuttering breath.  
>The pain was searing, like someone jabbing a hot fire poker into him, he's in shock from the pain radiating through his upper body. He cant breath.<p>

"Shit Julie... what the fuck?" Rick asks, taking a step towards her, only for her to take the knife to Daryl's throat.

Rick seeing this raises his hands, "Julie.. baby, what I meant to say was... Daryl was fuckin' my girl, so it's only right _I _get to kill him." he says smiling.

Julie gives a small unsure smile, nodding her agreement.

"'M gonna need that knife, I don' have mine on me." Rick says, holding his hand out for the hunting knife, dripping with blood.

"Jus' use your gun baby, nice and quick.. I want this over with now!" Julie says, getting frustrated.

"Too much noise baby, you know tha', jus' give me the knife and I'll finish him fast, then we can go back to the prison and be together, a'right?" Rick says,  
>smirking at Julie.<p>

"Rick you bastard, don' you dare, don' you fuckin' dare!" Beth screams frantically, looking at Daryl's panting form.

"Shut the hell up bitch, he made his mind up, here ya go baby." Julie says, standing up to hand Rick her knife.

He can hear Beth crying, he feels the blood leaving his body making him weak and dizzy, if he's gonna die, if Rick was gonna finish him off, he'll die telling her what matters.

"Beth" he sputters, looking at her lovingly as she looks back at him shaking, tears stain her sad dirty face. "Love ya girl,.. ya made.. my life in those two.. days I got to have ya." he stuttered out, not taking his eyes from hers. He can feel his shirt begin to soak through, the blood is still steadily flowing.

"No, no, no.. please Rick.. don'!" she sobs, frantically trying to free her hands.

"Sorry brother." Rick says, as he swings the blade through the air, into Julie's stomach making her scream out. "Sorry Julie." he says,  
>twisting the knife as he pulls it from her, blood spills from her mouth as she falls to her knees in the dirt, she looks up at him with tears of betrayal in her eyes, Julie wheezes her final breaths before falling face first onto the ground.<p>

Julie's dying screams must have been loud, because the groaning of walkers was approaching them fast.

Rick hears the threat too and starts towards Beth to let her free.

"No Rick.. Daryl first." she commands, looking to a very pale Daryl.

Daryl hearing this has enough sense to speak up, "No fuckin' way, there gettin' closer, get her the fuck outta here Rick!" he hisses.

"You owe me Rick, do this for me please, him first." she pleads.

"Ya fuckin' owe it to her to save _her _life, now hurry the fuck up," he shouts, getting annoyed at his procrastination.

Rick finally goes to Beth first, earning him a string of profanities thrown his way and works the blade through the ropes just as the first few walkers emerge from the trees. .

"Oh god.. Daryl!" He hears Beth yell before blacking out.

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Luckily the walkers went straight for Julie's corpse on the ground, giving Rick and Beth time to circle round them to Daryl's limp form.

She has never been as scared for someone as she was for Daryl, he passed out from blood lose as soon as Rick set her free.  
>Rick takes most of Daryl's weight as they haul ass through the trees, walkers must have smelt the blood soaking Daryl because they are coming left, right and centre. Rick takes his gun out and starts shooting a path to the prison while still supporting Daryl, she can do nothing but pray she doesn't drop him and hope that they make it back in time.<p>

The prison comes into view, Tyreese who was on watch, must have heard the gun shots because he has the cable ties open and is helping them through the fence, quickly closing it back up, blocking the hungry walkers from their pursuit.

She lets Tyreese take her place carrying Daryl the rest of the way to the prison, she didn't know how exhausted she was until she reaches the entrance, nearly collapsing through the doors.

"Hershel!" Rick wails, surly waking the whole prison.

She hears everyone stir in their cells as Rick and Tyreese lug Daryl's body up the stairs to his cell, Hershel follows sleepily behind.  
>Her body is on autopilot as she follows close behind, she sees Daryl's face for the first time since leaving the woods and everything comes crashing down.<br>She falls to her knees in tears at his bedside, cupping his face with her hands, not caring who was watching, they could all go to hell and judge her there if they pleased.

"Its ok, you're gonna be ok, I love you daryl, oh god please be ok." Beth cries, reaching her hands down to hold his cold hand in hers.

"Bethy, I need you to leave now.. you're no good to me in this state." Hershel commands, calling out what he needed to Carol, who had just come in.

Someone scooped her up into their arms and pried her hands from Daryl, she didn't want to leave but she knew her daddy would need to focus without her there blubbering over him. She was led to Ricks cell, only noticing that it was Rick who had picked her up from the floor when he sits her on his bunk.

"He's gonna be fine Beth, Hershel and Carol won' let anything happen to him." Rick comforts, squatting down to rub her knee soothingly.

Now that she was away from Daryl and the blood, she could think of what happened and was starting to get angry.

"How did ya know where to find us? Were ya in on it with her? Did ya change your mind last minute!?" she questions, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Of course I wasn' Beth, she left me a letter, she told me to meet her there, said if I didn't meet her.. she would kill herself, she drew me a small map to find her, I didn't know you and Daryl would be there, I swear." Rick says, sitting beside her on the bunk.

"Why didn't ya do anything then Rick? Ya seen she was crazy but ya didn't do anything, not until it was too late, ya had your gun, ya could have shot her then and there, Daryl is gonna die and it's all your fault!" Beth yells, standing up to shake off some of the adrenaline that was still running riot inside her.

"I didn' know she was gonna stab him, I thought I could get through to her if I talked to her for a bit, make it look like I was on her side... then make my move, I wasn't bout to draw my gun on her when she was holding her knife to Daryl, was too risky, she wouldn' have trusted me if I did that, 'm sorry if the plan didn' work out too good on Daryl's part." Rick finishes, looking up at Beth who has stopped pacing and is now heaving, about to break.

Rick quickly stands and pulls her in for a comforting embrace, she sobs into his chest, clutching the front of his shirt tightly.

"Thank ya for helpin' Daryl,... its not your fault, 'm jus' so scared Rick, I.. I can' loose him, if he dies..." Beth breaks off, shaking her head of the horrible  
>thought of Daryl dying. He cant.. he's supposed to be the last man standing.<p>

Rick hugs her tighter, "Ya really love him huh?" Ricks asks, more of a statement than a question.

Beth looks up into Ricks eyes, no sure of what to say, she cant discuss loving someone else with Rick... its weird, he cuts through the awkwardness when he smiles softly at her.

"I jus' wan' ya to be happy Beth, if bein' with Daryl does tha'... then ya should do it, if anyone gets to be happy.. its you." he says, wiping her tears away.

An overwhelming feeling of relief washes over her, she feels she's turned a corner in her life and she's excited at the prospect of new beginnings with Daryl, Rick's acceptance is the icing on the cake for her. All that's needed now is for Daryl to pull through so they can have their chance together.

"'M always gonna love ya Rick, .. jus'.."

Rick lets her go and smiles, "I know.. jus' not _in _love with me anymore,.. I'll take what I can get." he says, sadness showing through in his eyes as he smiles.

Beth gives him a sad smile before stepping on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek, "I need to go see if Daryl..." she didn't know how to finish her sentence,  
>if he was dead? If he made it? If he's alive? she just needed to go see him, to be with him, to be there if or when he wakes up. He'll wake up.<p>

Rick nods his understanding, she leaves.. heading up to Daryl's cell, she holds her breath as she stands outside his cell, not entering for fear of seeing him lying dead in his bed. She needed a minute to steel herself, but then she hears her daddy's light chuckle, he wouldn't laugh if Daryl were dead, would he?

"Nevertheless, I would like to apologise for what I said, you _are_ a good man." she hears her fathers voice from inside Daryl's cell.

Then she hears something that makes her heart soar, makes her stomach flip, makes her cry silent tears of joy.

"Before ya go, I wanted to ask your permission to uuh... to be with Beth, I love her and 'm gonna try be the man she deserves." Daryl mumbles.

Beth smiles from ear to ear, this man, this beautiful, kind, strong, loving man doesn't know its _her _who doesn't come close to deserving a man like  
>Daryl Dixon.<p>

"Son, no man is ever good enough for your little girl." she hears her father say, she nearly busts through the door, about to scold her daddy when he finishes what he was sayin.

"Until one is." she stops shocked, he's never said anything like that to Rick, he must have known somehow that Rick wasn't the one for her.

She contemplates whether to interrupt their 'moment', she turns to leave, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, but Hershel comes out stopping her mid stride.

"He's stable, Carol gave blood but he's still very weak so ya make sure he rests and drinks plenty of fluids." he says, kissing her on the head.

"Thank you daddy, I don' know what I would do withou' you." she whispers tiredly, her body is about to collapse if she doesn't lye down soon.

"Oh.. I'm sure you'd manage." he winks, smiling towards Daryl's cell. "Love ya sweetheart, goodnight." he says, leaving her standing at the door.

She makes her way into their cell, a feeling of coming home washes over her as she catches Daryl's smiling eyes.

"Hey." he says groggily, wincing in pain when he tries to move.

Beth shoots him a scolding glare for moving, silly, stubborn man. She starts to shed her clothes, leaving her in nothing but her underwear, she notices Daryl's hungry eyes eating her up as she slips on one of his shirts.

"Hi." she finally says, climbing into bed beside him as he brings his arm around her, resting his hand on her hip, she doesn't need to be carful about hurting him, his wound is the shoulder closest to the wall.

She lays her head on his good shoulder, relishing being close to him again, "Please don' scare me like tha' again... I thought I lost ya." she  
>whispers, running her palm over his heart.<p>

"'M not goin' anywhere, too much to loose if I jus' up and left, besides... only a Dixon can kill a Dixon." he mumbles, fighting sleep.

Beth looks up at him smiling devilishly, thinking of all the fun she's going to have.

"I should tell ya, I've been appointed as your carer until you're better, so... Ya can call me nurse Beth, my duties will be to give ya sponge baths, helping ya in and out of your clothes, preferably out." she smirks at his lustful expression.

"If ya wan' me to accept ya as my nurse, you're gonna have to wear the uniform... no point doin' thing half assed." he jokes, running his hand up her back.

"I'll see what I can do , but for now... plenty of rest and lots of TLC, we need you better asap if 'm gonna have my way with you." she  
>purrs seductively, leaning in, she presses her lips to his, licking at his lips begging for entrance, Daryl opens his mouth invitingly as she slips her tongue in, teasing his tongue with hers. Daryl groans at the feel of her tongue against his, she bites down playfully on his bottom lip, tugging it softly between her teeth before releasing it.<p>

"Can' kiss a man like tha' and expect him to wait however long its gonna take for my damn shoulder to heal, ya teasin' ain't nice , Imma have to punish ya for bein bad if ya keep it up." he says, squeezing her hip.

Beth feels her panties soak through from his words, she suddenly _wants _to know what Daryl dished out as punishment. Rubbing her thighs together, Beth lets her head fall back onto his shoulder, groaning in frustration.

"Well you're gonna have to punish me a lot because I plan on being _very _bad when you're better Daryl." she says nonchalantly.

She knows, even though she cant see his face that he's staring at the top of her head with his mouth hanging open.

"I love you, goodnight Daryl." she murmurs closing her eyes, before she drifts off she hears him say, "Love ya too sweetheart."

**So this is the second last chapter, which means a smut filled chapter to end it all, not a bad way to bring things to a close. :)  
><strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N- This is it :( I'm so sad this is ending, but I am so excited to start something new.  
>I have been dreading writing this chapter, for obvious reasons, I've never written full on smut<br>and I hope its not too bad to read. I want to say a final THANK YOU to everyone who has been reading  
>and reviewing, to everyone who has been with me from the start... your support means so much to me,<br>love you guys. :) This last chapter is a sort of mix between Daryl and Beth povs, I hope no one gets confused as to  
>who's who and what's what. x<br>**

_Chapter 12-_

It has been a week since crazy Julie nearly took everything away from her, a week since she knew for certain that  
>she would spend the rest of her apocalyptic days living and loving with Daryl.<br>She tries not to think of that day, but seeing Daryl's wound everyday reminds her of why its there, of who put it there. Julie was crazy, she was  
>unhinged, but she was also lost.<p>

Beth thought of the story Julie had told her and Daryl, about how she got picked on when she was in school, how she was treated reminded Beth of  
><em>her <em>experience with bitchy bullies, she knows first hand how peoples words can effect you in the long run, she felt lucky in a way when she thought of it now,  
>because she may have tried to kill herself over hurtful bullies, but at least <em>she<em> didn't try to hurt others, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her, Julie couldn't let it go and so it killed her in he end.

Beth was pulled out of her thoughts by a small hand tugging on her hair, "Judy! Ouchy, no pullin' mama's hair." she chuckles, trying to pull her hair free  
>from Judith's tight grasp. She was laying in the grass, letting Judith crawl around to enjoy the sun and fresh air.<p>

Rick has been surprisingly amazing these past few days, he spends a lot more time with Judith and Carl, she thinks it's to keep his mind on  
>other things besides sex, whatever the reason.. she's happy he looks to be doing great. The whole sex addict thing is a big taboo, she would never bring it up<br>and is pretty sure Rick is thankful for that. Although her and Daryl have forgiven Rick, a few of the group have been a bit hostile towards him, mainly Maggie.  
>She told Maggie to forget about it, that she couldn't be happier with how things worked out, but Maggie is as stubborn as she is. She knows she'll get over it<br>one day, they are all family here at the prison and family need to stick together, not fight.

"Ya wan' me to take her now? Think Daryl's been lookin' for ya." Rick says, startling her from her thoughts.

"Sure, let me know if ya wan' me to take her overnight again, I love our little sleepovers." Beth says, kissing Judith before handing her off to Rick.

Rick gave her a nod and smiled as she stands up, brushing herself off she starts to head toward the prison.

"Training tomorrow Greene, if you're late this time there'll be hell to pay, and by hell I mean running, and lots of it!" Michonne shouts from the guard tower.

"I won', I promise, I may even surprise ya by bein' early!" Beth yells, smiling at Michonne rolling her eyes at her, she blows a kiss up to the tower as her goodbye.

Since Rick admitted to kissing Michonne, she hasn't brought it up with her or ever intends to. There's no need talking about stuff that doesn't matter,  
>Michonne knows she doesn't hold any sort of grudge or hard feelings towards her and their friendship is as strong as ever.<p>

As she walked into the prison, she smiled at the thought of seeing Daryl. His week of recovery has been torture for him.. and for her, they were both  
>desperate for each other, every morning they would wake up kissing, their kisses always turned heated and needy, she found their hands couldn't be<br>controlled as they got lost in one another. She was the one that always stopped before things went too far, Daryl was still hurt, his health came first to her, even if he insisted he was fine, she wouldn't be persuaded until her daddy gives him the ok to go about his daily routine as normal.

She constantly thinks of Daryl, of what its going to be like with him, every time she daydreams of his large rough hands on her body she has to make up an excuse to run off to the showers, fingering the aching need between her legs away until she comes. Daryl offers to take care of it for her, knowing how worked up she gets just from being around him, but she refuses every time because she wouldn't be able to stop herself from wanting him completely if he did touch her.

As she is about to enter their cell, she senses someone behind her, she turns quickly to see Daryl smirking at her. He pushes her into their cell backwards, stopping to close the door behind him, never taking his eyes off her.

"Ya catchin' on Greene, how'd ya know I was there?" Daryl asks, snaking his arms around her waist.

"Sensed ya, got the feelin' I was bein' stalked." she smirks, winding her own arms around his neck, she stands on her tip toes to capture his lips  
>with hers. She hums into the kiss as he backs her up against the wall, running his hands up her sides.<p>

"Well ya were bein' stalked, was watchin' tha' tight ass o' yours walkin' up the stairs.. swayin' those hips like ya knew I was watchin'." he says, kissing down her jaw to her neck.

"Maybe I _did _know ya were watchin', give ya somethin' to think bout when your.." she's stopped mid sentence when she feels Daryl's hand slide under her shirt to cup her bare breast, she wasn't wearing a bra today, her clothes needed to be washed, it didn't surprise her when Daryl pulls back to look  
>at her with wide, lustful eyes.<p>

"Ya tryin' to kill me ain't ya." he says, swiping his thumb over her nipple, making her moan, throwing her head back against the wall.

Daryl, seeing how aroused just playing with her nipples made her, brings his other hand under her shirt to cup her other breast, squeezing firmly while simultaneously swiping his thumb over her erect nipples. She's panting hard, pushing her chest out further to silently tell him she wants more.  
>He bends his head to suck on her exposed neck while kneading her small perky breasts, she clings to his shoulders as he nips up her neck to whisper in her ear.<p>

"Got my clean bill of health today." he says, pulling back to look at her shocked face.

"Are ya serious? Don' you lie to me Daryl Dixon.. did he really say your fine?" Beth asks, sounding hopeful but looking sceptically at him.

She was desperate for it to be true, he got her so worked up that she is about ready to jump his bones.

"Scouts honour, I can go huntin'.. can go on runs.. can pick you up without bustin' open stitches." he says, smiling devilishly at her before lifting her up by her hips, she wraps her legs tightly around his waist, giggling into his neck.

He spins a couple times on the spot with her, just enjoying how close he feels to her, he buries his face in her neck, loving the way she smells so sweet as he inhales deeply, content on just holding her in his arms. He can feel her nip at his neck as her giggles die down, he can tell shes working herself back up by the way she's grinding her pelvis against him. He feels himself harden as she starts to kiss up his jaw to his lips, she grips the sides of his head as she crashes her lips to his in a hungry kiss, moaning into his mouth. Daryl pushes her back against the wall again for support as he clutches her hips and starts to grind his own hips against hers, fucking her against the wall with clothes on only seemed to work them up into a frenzy.  
>When he came to tell Beth he was fine, he didn't expect to get straight to <em>this,<em> but now that their here.. he intends to make the most of it.

"Daryl." Beth moans against his mouth, clawing at his vest.

He stopped his gyration, pulling back from the sloppy kiss, he needed to slow down or he was gonna blow his load all over himself, they were both gasping for air, staring lustfully at each other.  
>Daryl thought of the recent week he spent with Beth, cuddled up to her every night made him think of how much he loves her and how much he wants to show her he loved her when Hershel gives him the all clear, he wants to make love to her, he wants the slow and sensual he always said was boring sex, but he knows with Beth.. sex could never be boring. So he needed to slow down before he does the complete opposite and fucks her hard against the wall.<p>

He cups her face, "Let me make love to ya Beth?" he asks, suddenly nervous, staring into her eyes.

She smiles happily at him as she nods, not trusting herself to speak, she might heave out sobs of relief and _that_ is not very sexy she thinks.

Daryl smiles back at her and grips her around the waist as he walks them to the bed, he bends over to place her lightly on the bed, standing back up, Daryl looks down at his angel looking up at him with trusting eyes, he just hopes he can trust himself to follow through on his plan to make love and not fuck her into the mattress the second her clothes are off.

He starts to reach for his vest when Beth stops him, "Don't... let me do it." she says, getting to her knees to reach out for him.

He watches as she slowly pushes his vest off, skimming her soft hands down his bare arms, revelling in his bulging muscles, she licks her lips and swallows  
>hard as she starts to undo the buttons of his shirt one by one, he can see she's getting nervous too now, her hands are starting to shake.<br>When she finishes unbuttoning his shirt she starts to run her hands up his chest, marvelling at how toned he is. He doesn't know why she's looking  
>at him like she's seeing him for the first time, Beth has seen him plenty of times without a shirt.<p>

He closes his eyes as she leans in to place a kiss over his tattoo, she says she's always been fascinated by his tattoos, says it turns her on, she thinks their sexy. She continues kissing up his chest to his neck as her hand reaches down to his belt, her nimble fingers make light work of it and soon she's fidgeting to undo the button of his pants. She seems to remember his shirt is still on and abandons his pants to push his shirt from his body, he's mesmerised by her, just following her slow moving hands with his watchful eyes.

When his shirt hits the floor he thinks that he should feel uncomfortable, that his scars shouldn't be on display for her delicate innocent eyes to see, but he remembers all their late night talks, him confiding in her about his scarred back, she told him scars don't define him, they make him stronger not weaker.  
>She confided in him, she showed him the scar on her wrist, she trusted him enough to do that so he has no fear in this moment when she embraces him and starts to run her hands up and down his back while kissing his neck.<p>

He's so caught up in her kissing and sucking his neck that he doesn't notice when her hands leave his back to pop the button on his jeans, she looks eager when she unzips him, finally getting close to something. He takes her face and starts to kiss her, because it feels too long since he's had his lips on hers,  
>he slips his tongue into her open mouth and groans when he feels her tiny hand slip into his pants to grasp his rock hard cock. Her hand was warm and soft as it moved slowly back and forth, she kisses him with her eyes open, wanting to see his reaction to her finally touching him, he looks as if he's in pain but the noises he's making against her mouth tells a different story.<p>

He grips her wrist suddenly, stopping her movement, she's looking confused, like she's done something wrong, he stares at her hungrily, he needs to see her, all of her.

"Wanna see ya... naked.. now." he jokingly commands, making her smile.

He removes her hand from his pants and pushes her back against the bed, she sits on the bunk scooting backward, she leans up on her elbows. He climbs onto the bed after her, settling between her legs on his knees, she's still fully clothed, that just wont do.  
>He looks down into her eyes as she's still propped up on her elbows, observing his every move, he reaches for her pants while still holding her gaze, he pops the button and slowly starts to pull them down her smooth legs, pulling her boots along with them as he drops them to the floor, leaving her panties on for now.<p>

Beth watches as he kisses his way back up her legs, when he reaches her thighs, he grips her legs to spread them open, exposing her soaked white cotton panties, he can smell her arousal, she holds her breath as he leans in to press his mouth against her, kissing her over the material, she falls back on the pillow releasing a long breathy whine.

"Ya smell so fuckin' good, bet ya taste even sweeter." he drawls, as he climbs up her body, kissing her on the mouth.

She can taste a hint of herself from his lips which turns her on more, if that's even possible? She's desperate to feel him inside her, she starts to push his pants down with her hands, but when she cant go any further she uses her feet to drag them the rest of the way, letting him kick them from his feet.  
>He is fully naked now, wearing boxers was never his thing, just another piece of clothing to wash, Beth seems to like it though.<p>

He can see Beth's eyes eating him up, he wants her to be naked too, and as if she could read his mind, she sits up and removes her shirt up over her head and drops it on the floor, smiling as he unashamedly stares at her breasts. Her nipples pebble from the cold, she shivers as Daryl leans down to worship  
>her peaks with his tongue, making her whimper.<p>

"Your so beautiful Beth." he whispers against her skin, he sits up on his knees to look down on her. So damn perfect.

Daryl grips the sides of her panties, she lifts her hips to allow him to slide them from her legs very slowly, he's looking at her body like he wants to devour every inch of her, and he does just that. He pulls her down to the bottom of the bed by the ankles, making her squeal and giggle in surprise, her laughter stops suddenly when she sees his head dip to kiss her navel, he's looking up at her as he descends lower towards her pussy.

She lets out a strangled moan as she feels the first flick of his tongue, its a long quick lick for that first exquisite taste, he hums his appreciation,  
>"Mmmmm, knew you'd taste sweet, 's like honey drippin' all over my tongue." he says, the vibration of his humming makes her squirm under him.<p>

She is surprised how vocal Daryl is while being intimate, and even more surprised when she finds that she can' get enough of his dirty mouth.  
>He grabs both her legs and throws them over his shoulders for better access, he's lapping at her as soon as he's happy with her position, swirling his tongue<br>around her glistening folds, she cant help bucking her hips up, it feels so good, she's not sure why.. but she feels extra sensitive down there,  
>every time she feels his tongue run over her clit she feels like she's going to explode.<p>

Daryl pushes his hands up to her hips and holds her down firmly on the bed, not allowing her any room to move, although he did love how she was grinding her pussy against his face, he knew she was close already, he just needed to give her that something extra.

"Oh god.. yess Daryl... nnngg... 'm close!" she moans, gripping a hand full of his hair, the other hand was scrunched tightly in the sheets as she feels that familiar tug low in her belly.

Daryl cant get enough of her sweet nectar, he sucks and licks at her like a starving man, he's almost sad that she's nearly over the edge, but he cant wait  
>to make her come, cant wait to watch as her orgasm takes over. He lets go of one of her hips to swiftly insert two of his thick fingers into her tight pussy, her reaction was immediate, she screams out, not caring if she was being too loud, not caring if the whole prison could hear her, because he has just given her the best orgasm of her life and <em>that's<em> something to scream about. She pulsates around his fingers, gushing her juices all over his digits and mouth, he's staring up at her as he continues slowly licking her down from her high. Beth lays limp on the bed, her heavy breathing is the only thing that can be heard within their cell.

She has to sit up to push his head away, she's so sensitive and his constant ministration was too much. She grins tiredly at him as she pulls him up the bed with her. Daryl lays on top of her, making sure to not crush her by leaning up on his forearms.

"That... was amazing." she pants, running her hands down his sides, she really wants to know what he tastes like but she cant wait another second to have him inside her. "Please Daryl.. I need you now." she says, reaching down to wrap her hand around him, she pumps his throbbing cock a couple times before she starts to guide him to her entrance when he stops her.

"Hold up.. need to wrap up first." he tells her, about to get up from the bed, but is stopped by Beth's hand, not letting go of his cock.

"Its fine.. I can' remember the last time I had a period, I think 'm sterile or somethin', me and Rick always had sex without..." she stops herself and drops his cock when she sees the disgusted look Daryl gives her when she mentions having sex with Rick.

"Oh no.. 'm sorry.. I wasn' thinkin'..." she starts to apologise when Daryl cuts in "'S fine Beth, we both have a past.. jus'... don' tell me bout having sex with your past when you're bout to have sex with your future." he jokes, smiling as he presses his forehead to her.

She smiles up at him, melting into a puddle under him at his words, he's her future.. and she couldn't wait to spend it with him.

"Its jus'... I don' wan' anything between us, I wanna feel _you _Daryl." she whispers, "I promise it will be fine.. jus' please, no condom?"

Daryl trusts Beth with his life, so if she says its fine... its fine. "A'right, jus' wanna make ya happy Beth." he says, kissing her lips softly.

His dick went limp at the mention of Rick, no surprise there, so he started to kiss her deeper while he cupped her breast in his hand, pinching her nipple  
>to attention. Beth whimpered beneath him, slipping her hand around his now hard cock, she starts to pump him slowly, spreading the pre come that leaked<br>from the tip around, making her hand slip and slide against him gloriously.

Daryl leans up, hooking her legs around his waist before positioning himself at her inviting, wet pussy. When he finally slides in its like coming home, she's  
>warm and tight and felt every bit as good as he thought she would feel, being bare inside her felt amazing, feeling her walls surrounding him heightened the sensations in his dick. They both let out a shaky whimper when he bottomed out inside of her, he wanted her to adjust a little before he started moving , but she has other ideas. Beth was writhing and moaning for him to move, she places both of her hands on his ass and starts to squeeze hard, provoking<br>Daryl to pull almost all the way out before slamming all the way back in.

"Shit.. ya feel so fuckin' good Beth." Daryl groans, as he continues his slow rhythm of love making, pulling out slowly to thrust back in sharply.

He doesn't know what he was thinking before, making love felt just as amazing to him as fuckin', maybe even more. Yes he's struggling to not go faster and harder, but he'd do this for her, make it special like she deserves.

She cant believe how wonderful she felt having Daryl on top of her, inside of her, surrounding her in everyway possible. When he asked her if he could make love to her she was in awe, from what she's seen of Daryl when he was with Carol, he always seemed like the rough sort, but now..with her.. he's so careful, slowly making love to her instead of fuckin' her, which she was expecting he _would _do, but loving that he was being slow and gentle with her. In that moment she had an epiphany of sorts, in all her time with Rick, wanting him to fuck her like one of his whores wasn't what she really wanted at all, what she _really_ wanted was for their love making to feel right, and only now she is seeing why it never felt right... it was because _he_ wasn't right for her... it was always Daryl. Nothing in her life felt more right then Daryl slowly making love to her, kissing her deeply as he brings her closer to her second orgasm.

"I Love you Daryl." she breaths out, as she tangling her fingers through his damp hair, moving her sweat slicked body against his.

Daryl gazes into her eyes transfixed, he's never been happier than in this moment with the woman he loves, "Love ya so much Beth." he whimpers, as he feels himself nearing his release. He's not going to come without her right there beside him, so he grinds harder against her hard nub... always keeping the steady pace, making her cry out her release with his name tumbling from her mouth over and over, her pussy clenches so tightly around him that he can do nothing but release deep inside her with a grunt, collapsing on her as he buries his head into her neck, gasping for air.

She clutches at his back, loving the feeling of his weight on her, she feels boneless, even if she wanted to move she couldn't.

Daryl has enough energy to roll off of her, bringing her with him to lay her head on his chest, she pulls the covers over them and sighs contently, both sated and happy, too tired to talk he thinks of all the times he's spent worrying, thinking of whether he would be able to make love to someone, turns out... he only needed the right woman to make love to. Now that he does have the perfect woman, he thinks maybe he _can_ have that damn romance novel kinda love with Beth, maybe they'll get married, maybe have kids, and maybe... they get to have their happy ever after

He knows Beth enjoyed every bit of what they had just done, but he knows his girl better then she knows herself. Although she agreed to slow and sensual, he knows deep down what she really wants, what she really craves and needs is the piece of rough she knows he can give, he seen it in her eyes when she walked in on him and Carol, she longs to be held down, to be spanked and fucked, and that's what he was gonna give her.  
>She was kind enough to let him make love to her the first time, now its her turn to get what she wants.<p>

"Hope you're not too tired darlin', 'm not done with you yet." he says huskily, flipping her over and pulling her up onto her hands and knees non too gently, making her gasp out surprised.

He bends over her back to whisper in her ear, "Ya better hold on tight sweetheart cause 'm only getting started."

**_THE END._** (Or is it?)

**I'm gonna roll over and die now.. that was a killer to get out. The ending had me thinking that I could do so much more with this, so...  
>I am planning a sequel. It wont be out for a while, I have to map it out and I want to have a few chapters written out before I post anything, and.. it will have a lot more Bethyl smut, dirty, dirty smut. ;)<br>So that was the end of this story :'( hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I have**** . X Bye for now X **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N - Hello again :) So I'm just writing to give a brief description of the sequel to this story which will be called  
>'Your Beating Heart'. It wont be posted for another while because I'm working on other things too and my<br>personal life is pretty busy so I will try my hardest to produce something soon.** **So here's a little of what's to come.**

_**Daryl and Beth are loving their new life together at the prison, their growing love life is blossoming, as is the unborn  
>baby Beth is unknowingly carrying.<br>What happens when she finds out the baby couldn't possibly be Daryl's, but instead Rick's...her cheating ex she thought she  
>was done with.<br>Will Daryl and Beth's relationship stand against the new dangers that threaten their home, the new faces that stir things up,  
>and the new baby that will ultimately decide the faith of our favourite couple Bethyl? <strong>_

**Shock, horror.. I know! This is why I had to write a description, babies that aren't Bethyl are a no, no.. so, this was a  
>warning of sorts, if you are not liking where I'm taking this then I will not be offended if you decide to leave the story as is.<br>If you do decide not to continue on I would like to say thank you for reading 'Your Cheating Heart' and I hope to see you on  
>my other works of Bethyl. If you do decide to continue I wanna say thank you for sticking with it and that we have a crazy journey ahead... see you soon x<strong>


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